XMen Second Verse Original Story
by SilverPhoenix-Tsukuyomi
Summary: An original story filled with action and drama. Focuses less on the Original XMen and more on my own. Please read and review. 3rd Chapter up!
1. Beginning of the New Year

(( I claim… nothing. I wish I could. Any characters that are not my own, are property of Marvel… and they are awesome for creating them no?

….But it's likely that my own made up characters will be the most frequent… with occasional references or short appearances by other Marvel characters. The general plot is not mine… it is actually an old friend's and I may (probably will) borrow and mold their characters for this little story…

So thank you to my friends. If I find some way to find y'all or properly thank you I would… but for now this is all I can do. I will also specify what characters belong to who… and my inspiration for making them… well you'll see.

And now I start. Thank you for reading. Please enjoy… eww I sound like the thing from the movie theaters. …Right, sorry. ))

Dettora, Canada 2015

In Canada, the mutant gene, also known as the X gene was somewhat famous. People had heard of mutants, and though not all people were generally friendly world wide towards the mutants, there were some that extended olive branches. The Canadian government was much more… accepting of the mutants but had their fair share of problems.

In an effort to work through the impending fear and the distrust of the misunderstood identity of these mutants, Professor Charles Xavier created a long lasting impact in the society. As a world renowned telepath and one of the kindest people that many could think of, as well as being the leader of the equally famous X-Men, his life's work had been to help promote peaceful relationships between mutants and regular humans.

Though, Xavier's work was primarily focused in America. In Canada, however, another powerful telepath had started her own institute in the likeness of Xavier's. The Headmistress Kiera Delaurie was the figurehead of the Canadian Institute for Higher Learning, commonly referred to as Generation XIII.

((A/N: …As I introduce characters I will provide a little background into them. So bear with me a little bit as these are… interesting little distractions. Hah. ))

----

Name: Kiera Delaurie  
Codename: Priestess  
Age: 27 or so  
Gender: Female  
Ethnic Background: Presumed to be Canadian or East European

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation: The Priestess is a known telepath. Her powers are pretty strong and well-developed, rivaling Xavier's on some level. Her attacks are mostly long-ranged though and with a large power scale, she can be quite the heavy hitter.

Telepathy

Telekinesis

Telepathic Cloak – The ability to mask her presence or those she chooses as a type of field interference type thing.

Psychic Blasts

Mental Detection – Discovering another's presence with her mind. She can also vaguely sense which forms of life are mutants or not.

Psychic Shield

Neural Jumpstart – Increase of neural signals in herself or others. Basically she can help stimulate another mutant's powers but it's temporary.

Mental Amnesia – The ability to influence a sort of amnesia. ..Quite handy when dealing with regular humans.

Astral Projection

Occupation: Headmistress at the Canadian Institute of Higher Learning  
Appearance: A dark and sultry kind of person, she's not one to spare anything on her appearance. Standing at 5'6" she exudes a regal sense and demands complete attention with her dignified air. A kind of person that might instigate lust in others, she has raven black hair and piercing black eyes. As expected, she's one to wear whatever she wants. Her hair is tied with various braids and beads and reaches her upper back. A calm expression always fills her face.  
Personality: A calm, cool, and collected person with a flair for acting like the undisputed Queen and ruler of the roost, any sort of attraction is usually immediately squashed seeing her demanding attitude. Commanding absolute respect and loyalty, though giving leeway here and there, she seems almost emotionless in how she deals with things. She often seems to act as if she has no qualms about making hard decisions making her seem… foreign and unapproachable to others.   
History:

Early history, classified information

At the age of 17, she was put into a makeshift team of raw recruits of mutants in order to stop a wave of attacking aliens. The team, though somewhat dysfunctional, served the purpose and though one… notable member branched off by himself, many of the group became close-knit and some became the teachers of Ms. Delaurie's Institute, while others keep in contact at times.

Other: …It has been disputed whether she and Orion are dating. Ms. Delaurie offers no comment.

Inspiration: Actually the Priestess is not mine. She belongs fully and completely to my old friend… Thank you Crayola! She's so fun to write for though. I just hope I actually spelled her name right this time. Usually I just end up calling her the Priestess… though somehow I end up thinking of witchdoctors when I think of the Priestess. Actually I believe in her original state she was over 200 but I decided to make it a touch more believable.

----

The Priestess walked the halls of her Institute with a calm and regal appearance. Her hair was done up in her braids while beads captured some of the longer bangs and made them manageable again. "Yes… they shall arrive soon." Her outfit was a low-cut black gown though the outfit had a slit in the right side that went up to her knee. She wore black-heeled boots that made an audible sound as she walked… something like: clip, clop, clip, clop.

"Are we ready for the new arrivals, Orion?" She asked turning her head. She was able to sense her comrade from a hallway or so away. Orion was probably one of the ones closest to the Priestess, something like her right hand man… or more accurately the Vice Principal of sorts.

"Of course. Everything has been cleaned top to bottom, mi amiga." The man spoke as he came from the shadows. His Hispanic accent seemed to ring true and his brushed a stray red hair out of his face and behind his ears.

---

Name: Raphael Castilla  
Codename: Orion  
Age: 29  
Gender: Male  
Ethnic Background: Spanish. …From Spain, not Latin America.

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation: Orion is a strange mutant. His power is mainly in alteration of gravity increasing or decreasing gravitational fields around things or places. He can also manifest his energy into powerful plasma bolts. When he uses his powers his eyes glow a royal purple and his control over gravity requires lots of concentration.

Gravity Alteration – By manipulating fields of gravity on objects or places, things can go floating around or just become a whole lot heavier. By manipulating this, he can make objects float like telekinesis.

Kilo Force – By manipulating the fields of gravity around himself, he can make his jumping powers double and sort of float by, or can increase the gravity making him a hard hitter in terms of physical attacks. He can move normally under intense gravity as well.

Star Strike – By gathering energy of neutrons around him, he can gather energy in his arms and shoot them through his hand. The energy bolts, called 'stars' by everyone basically, are royal purple in color and can come in sizes from small bullet sized to the size of a volleyball.

Nova Stream – By just plain shooting raw neutron energy from his arms, he shoots a beam of royal purple energy out. It can have a widespread radius, or be the radius of a laser pointer. The smaller the radius, the more pain inflicted.

Occupation: Teacher at the Institute; he teaches World History and Spanish.  
Appearance: Standing at about six foot even, he can be an intimidating figure among people. With a dignified and confident look always on his face, it's rare to see him afraid… well… outwardly afraid. Because of years of… reluctant training, he is well-built though he slacks off just enough so he doesn't look bulky at all. He is rather thin but capable of strength of someone with muscles all over. His hair is a garnet red color and his eyes are a mysterious royal purple color, though they used to be brown. His skin is slightly pale for a Hispanic but he still has a natural slightly tanned look. He can often be seen wearing robes or his training suit which he altered himself. He is a fan of greens and blacks, finding most things look strange with his red hair, and conflicting eyes.  
Personality: A self-righteous sort of person, Orion can appear like he's arrogant though he's really not. Though cold to almost everyone at first, he's a deeply sympathetic person. Kind and generous, though somewhat strict at times, he's very good at keeping things together, and providing balance between him and the Priestess. Though not very approachable at first, he's a good listener and tends to be very sweet though he's a bit standoffish at times. It takes a long time to earn his trust completely and once it is earned, it's hard to break. He is somewhat a jaded voice of reason, often appearing cynical and sarcastic.  
History:

Raphael Castilla was born in Valencia, Spain. His family was a group of powerful merchants. His family was quite large, there being eight people in his immediate family, besides him. He had five siblings, being the exact middle between them.

His family, on a visit to Barcelona, stopped in a small pueblo town. It was there that his powers began to exert themselves. His eyes were the first real change, as his once chestnut brown eyes turned to an amethyst color. Things also seemed to randomly float if he concentrated hard enough on them. And as if that weren't enough, his final attacking powers emerged at an inopportune time.

While touring the small city, Raphael began to feel a burning type sensation on his arm and randomly, a purple bolt of energy fired from his hand, destroying a monument of the city, which was apparently famous. Being jeered and called 'el mutante malvado' his family was forced to keep on the move.

His father revealed to him that he was also a mutant, though his powers were only over gravitational fields, and that his own powers were an updated improvement on his father's, or so it seemed. His father was able to secretly train him how to use his powers and when he was able to move, he went to Canada, where he learned English and a bit of French as well.

He was soon recruited by the Canadian government for a covert operation and lumped together with a group of untrained recruits when he was only about nineteen. Their mission was to defend the planet from a group of aliens, and while they had no real battle training, they succeeded. The, then proclaimed, Orion became a close friend of one Kiera Delaurie and sided with her in creating an Institute to help others.

Other: Orion is thought to be secretly dating the Priestess. …He blushes deeply at the accusation but neither shed light on their relationship besides being friends. He often is seen slipping into Spanish at times. Raphael can speak Spanish, English, a bit of French, and a bit of Portuguese.

Inspiration: Orion is… I don't want to say he's my absolute favorite (but he is.) He's 100 my character I swear. Actually, the inspiration came to me when I saw the constellation Orion's Belt. And it made me wonder… Actually I was gonna make his codename a name of a star… but I couldn't find any that sounded good. And then I thought of naming him after a planet or a moon but somehow the name… Saturn (early choice) or Europa (…bad early choice) didn't capture him quite right. In the end I decided on Orion. …I then read Orion was a Greek hunter who was involved with Artemis goddess of the moon. I knew that but it jogged my memory. And up until then I'd only thought of his blasting powers when I remembered something about the moon and it's gravity… and then I decided on that as another one of his powers, though it quickly became his most used one. …I secretly support him and the Priestess together… haha…

---

"Ah that's good. Ready for a new year? After ten years, you should be pretty good at this." Delaurie said with a slight smirk… that smirk could mean many things but by now, Orion had figured out her body language.

"Haha… well as long as we're prepared for explosions I think we'll be fine. It's good to have Demeter constantly working with the herbs. We save hundreds on pain killers that way." He said shaking his head.

"Hey no talking about me, Star Boy. You leave me and my plants out of this. Aw, they didn't mean it my little ficus… the lovebirds are just being noisy." The young woman now identified as Demeter spoke as she tended to a houseplant. She tucked a golden brown thread of hair back into her braid with a little effort.

"What are you talking about now?!" The now blushing Orion said with a bit of defensiveness in his voice.

"Relax, Raphael. You know Viola's just trying to get your goat. Right sweetie?" A man said laughing some at the whole predicament before kissing his wife on the cheek.

"Horatio you're no fun. …Oh wait. Did you see the kids today? Ahh… I'm so nervous…" Viola said with a slight twinge of nervousness.

"Relax, Viola. August and Phoebe are fine. They'll be here soon enough. I hope it won't be weird seeing their parents at work." Horatio said with a slight look of thoughtfulness. "Well… it's not like there was anything else we could do for them." He said scratching his head.

"Careful, sweetheart, you'll find another gray hair that way…" Viola said with a slight giggle.

"…And we're the lovebirds?" Kiera said looking over her two… married friends.

----

Name: Viola Baptiste (Now Viola Reznik)  
Codename: Demeter  
Age: 31  
Gender: Female  
Ethnic Background: Greek

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation:

Viola's mutant ability is that of plant manipulation and control.

Mother Nature – The ability to make any plant grow by speeding up the process of photosynthesis to an exponential rate. What nature does in years, she can do in seconds.

"Bio Kinesis" – A technique where she can actually read the ground and plant's thoughts. ..Though Viola admits their thoughts are rather simple and basically what the plant needs or feels.

Hybridization – Viola can cross-pollinate a plant by herself and can mimic a plantlike state.

Sprouts – Viola can generate plant life on her body and shoot it out and wield it like a weapon, changing its density and its form on a whim.

Occupation: Teacher at the Institute; she teaches English, Psychology and German.   
Appearance: Viola has the appearance of a Greek beauty. As Horatio likes to joke she looks like, Helen of Troy. Her eyes are baby blue and though she's only about 5'4", she has the beauty of any goddess. She has long golden blonde hair that reaches the back of her knees, usually tied up in a long braid with a blue ribbon, but also can be seen in a tight bun at times. Often seen in girly dresses or her own training suit, she seems to be quite attractive to others.   
Personality: Viola is motherly above all… even before having children. She is a kind and warm, outgoing and beautiful person, inside and out. She trusts a bit too easily, leading her to get hurt a few times before. She has always been a generous person but with a lot of confidence. She's a real bold one, even butting heads with the Priestess. Demeter's a real stubborn one and though cooperative, she does keep her opinions fairly well known.  
History:

Born to a family of all girls, Viola was always somewhat of a tomboy among them… which says a lot considering many see her as girly. Her parents had to work very hard in order to make ends meet in Greece. Soon they moved to America where the jobs were easier to find, and though the pay wasn't much better, they could get more of what they needed.

Viola's powers, being the only one to have them in her family, came as a great and wonderful surprise to her parents. They had prayed to the goddess Demeter (after nearly every other god in all religions…) for some way for them to be assisted in their plight for money. ...And as luck would have it, the Greek young girl was given the power over plants. Convinced that it was a gift from Demeter, they made good use of her powers. Viola used her powers to help maintain a farm in Kansas and later Wyoming.

Her family soon was able to support itself with astonishing results. The small farm became a plantation and Viola was able to attend the best schools, while her parents became one of the most influential (and fair) tycoons of the agricultural business. Soon the government discovered her powers and she was recommended for a covert mission to stop an alien invasion while she was only eighteen.

Before setting off, she bade farewell to her parents. Though the team was haphazard, they were victorious and soon found love with one of her fellow members. They would eventually marry and have two children in the same year.

Other: She has two girl children (that will appear later) August and Phoebe age 11 and 10 respectively. They also have powers. Use of her powers for extended periods of times causes random weakness.

Inspiration: Viola is… more for fun. I got into Greek myths for a school project. She's my character. ;; Though it doesn't seem like my normal thing. I avoid doing elemental characters if I can… somehow it seems so… cliché. But the idea of a Greek girl being Demeter… and her parents praying to Demeter… too coincidence you say? Oh and I like her because I wanted to see what a parent mutant would be like after seeing Invisible Woman with her child. I'm curious.

Name: Horatio Reznik  
Codename: Requiem  
Age: 33  
Gender: Male  
Ethnic Background: Czechoslovakian mostly, with a touch of French and Hungarian.

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation: Horatio can control vibrations mostly. Through the manipulation of sounds he can create quite a problem for enemies.

Resonance – Horatio can manipulate vibrations created by people and himself to create louder or softer vibrations. With enough power, he can create earthquakes just by manipulating the sound waves.

Resounding Echo – By controlling and amplifying sound waves, he can create deadly blasts of sound. These blasts take the form of a small blast that is shot at an enemy. It has been known to smash through steel or break bone.

Dissonance – By identifying and disrupting the natural vibrations of any given object, he can repel it and send it away. This repulsion is mainly used for projectiles though it takes up the most energy.

Swan Song – Needing utmost concentration, Horatio can tap into a person's vibrations through their heartbeat and breathing. By doing this, he can then launch a secret attack on their body, ranging from the organs to the nervous system. With enough time, he can decrease a person's energy, or even mortally wound someone. But if his concentration is disturbed, the attack seems to bounce back and in the recoil, injures himself.

Occupation: Teacher at the Institute; he teaches Mathematics and Music  
Appearance: A tall, dark, and somewhat handsome sort of person, he likes to look like he's in charge. A smooth talker by nature, he's best at actually diffusing fights simply by talking. He's an excellent orator, being articulate and eloquent, and a peacekeeper and mediator. Above all, he tends to play the role of guardian to just about anyone. He is very friendly and a bit naïve in fact. He likes to believe there's good in everyone though it seems a bit outdated.  
Personality: Smooth, suave, and just a little out there, Horatio's a dreamer of sorts. A big spacey and not a real great listener, he always seems to have his head in the clouds. Though wonderfully brilliant, he's very forgetful and tends to forget things he shouldn't. This of course makes people angry at him. …He's not a real great fighter and if he can he'll avoid fighting at whatever cost. Only few people make him angry enough to fight. He really is a typical goofy father.  
History: Born to Czechoslovakian parents in Vermont of the United States, he was born to a pair of poor parents, but had very wealthy grandparents, often spending holidays with them in Prague.

Horatio soon saw the difference between the poor and the rich and became a religious sort of person, but more involved in charity than anything else. It wasn't until he was sixteen when his powers emerged. During an… inopportune moment, he felt a horrible pain in his head, and entered a cathedral so he could get permission from the minister to leave, as they were having a charity sale.

Soon someone began to play a few chords on the gothic cathedral's pipe organ. The pain seemed to sear through him and in an explosive display of power, he sent a huge shockwave through the cathedral. When he awoke, his powers had accidentally killed the minister when the roof collapsed in a place. The vibrations were so extreme that they knocked the face of a clock in one of the towers off and blocked one of the roads, and even shook a few of Prague's spires loose that tumbled into the streets.

Aghast at what his powers could do unchecked, he fled Prague and made it back to America. Soon he looked to control his powers, and finally doing it, he went back to Prague. It turned out, authorities had been looking for him and had discovered that he had been the one to damage the cathedral. For his powers, he was sent to join a group to stop the alien invasion at the time. While defeating the aliens, he fell in love with the one named Demeter and married her, having two children with her.

Other: He carries bells attached to his outfit just in case he needs to fight, so he can use their vibrations as a power source.

Inspiration: …Eh… Horatio is a modified form of an early character; Way way way back in the day. Haha. The thing of his supersonic powers were the same though. …I did struggle with the name, I must say. It was a toss up… between Requiem, Sonata, Ballad, and Aria. I decided Ballad wasn't what I wanted to say… Aria sounded like a girl's name… and Sonata, though I do love the word, wasn't quite what I was looking for as I added the power Swan Song. Requiem means like… a death song. And Requiem seemed to fit best.

---

"We're married. That's why, dear." Viola said with a slight wink in the direction of the Priestess. "We'll behave once the kids get here. …Won't we, Horatio?" She said in a rhetorical way. Demeter didn't want Requiem to embarrass their kids… yet again.

"August and Phoebe are old enough to be here… oh it's just so sad… Daddy's little girls are growing up… Right, Mama?" Horatio said in an immature sort of voice.

"They're not even dating yet. Stop worrying. You sound as if your daughters are going to be married. So embarrassing…" A young African American woman said walking by carrying a huge box of medical supplies. It didn't take her long before she disappeared into her little office and came back in order to greet the new recruits.

"Good day, Dominique… Ya know, Magi, if ya keep on acting like that, you won't get any children of your own…" Horatio said to Dominique in a tsk tsk sort of way. It was fun to see if he could rattle her cage so early.

"Please do me and the world a favor and shut up. Viola can't you keep a leash on him?" She said sarcastically.

---

Name: Dominique Yvonne Rosalina  
Codename: Magi  
Age: 25  
Gender: Female  
Ethnic Background: African American, born and raised in France.

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation: Dominique, or Magi, is one of the most helpful at the Institution. Her powers of healing but her more well-known cosmic powers seem to make her stand out. Her healing powers often have a backlash (will be explained… later in the story)

Panacea – The ability to cure… for the most part, various injuries. Though it takes a long time depending on the injury, or disease. Time varies. There are a few things that she cannot cure or take too much time to cure.

Lady Luck – With the use of acute cosmic powers, she can make projectiles like bullets swerve off course or hit less vital areas of her body.

Creole Magic – With enough concentration, Dominique can actually manipulate things in the way magic does. She can create good luck, or curse, and inflict minor pain from a distance. It would be a bad idea to mock her magic.

Bewitch – She seems to be able to use her cosmic powers to influence people's emotions.

Statistical Readjustment – With a lot of concentration, she can warp reality and make things that should be nearly impossible a reality. This makes her a tough customer but takes a lot of energy out of her.

Occupation: She works at the Institute, as a doctor. She is on par with the most skillful of doctors. She also teaches gym and health etc and also French.  
Appearance: A gentle and almost frail looking woman, she is one that seems to be overlooked at times. Her hair is deep ebony as are her eyes but she's never one to appear without makeup. She always wears nice things, a fan of odd trinkets. She always looks very serious and isn't one to change for just anyone. For being a doctor, she seems to get sick rather often.  
Personality: Dominique appears rather classy and all around distinguished to most people. However, she is snide beyond all reason, not one for sympathy unless it's a dire emergency. Prone to random mood swings, she can be downright vindictive if she has to be. Most of the time she is very curt with people though respectful. She also has a way of putting people to rest, especially children, though with older patients she seems to like to joke around… though she says it so seriously that most people don't understand it.  
History:

Classified Information – Presumed that Dominique was a genetic creation, crossing genes of a voodoo priestess and a mutant with the power to heal.

What we do know is that she was mandated to assist an operation for the defense of the world's safety against otherworldly invaders. There she became a sort of field medic while at fifteen and used her powers to help stop hoards of aliens by herself being a vital player in the operation.

Soon she was relieved of her duty after the crisis was under control. The Priestess offered her a position at the Institute and she accepted. …That's all there really is to it.

Other: Dominique is perhaps one of the wisest of all in the Institute and only alone with the Priestess can either of the two talk freely… except that the Priestess sometimes speaks freely with Orion. Dominique also has great respect for Orion.

Inspiration: Eh. Hmm… I read a book about voodoo and Creole stuff for an English thing… cuz it was a side thinger for the Crucible. Twas very amusing actually… I wonder if there's any merit. Actually, I was debating on her name as Magi… but I remembered the story of the Magi… not the ones that visited Jesus… the one where the girl sells her hair to get the guy a chain and the guy sells his watch to get combs for his wife… yeah… cuz Magi means a wise man but I can see Dominique giving up her most precious possession to help someone… even if it isn't smart, and her powers involve giving something while something is taken from her as well.

---

"Aww, don't be so upset, Magi. He'll calm down once the students finally arrive. You know he's always like that around us. But really, sweetie, tone it down a bit, huh?" Viola said shaking her head at Horatio who looked like a crestfallen little puppy.

"Has anyone seen Crest around? He should be here to greet the kids too right?" The Priestess's cold voice seemed to echo through the halls. It wasn't like Crest to be late for… anything.

"You didn't know Kiera? Kwan's bringing his four children since they're old enough; you remember Laura, Nora, Orianna, and Perry?" Dominique asked with a slight quirk of her face.

"Oh that's right. I had forgotten that Crest was really that old."

"Stop talking about me guys. It's not nice. You're gonna make me cry…" A laughing voice said. "You have no idea how hard it is to force Mona to do anything, especially when it involves the Four." He said stepping forward.

---

Name: Kwan Seong-Crane  
Codename: Crest  
Age: 36  
Gender: Male  
Ethnic Background: Korean-American

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation: Born with a distinct birthmark on the middle of his chest, the power he gives off comes from it, giving him the nickname Crest. He sometimes called the Black Swan or Prophet Angel for his powers.

Wings – Crest can extend and retract a pair of black wings. Their wingspan is about twenty feet or so. Along with this, he is given immense upper body strength, able to lift a small car, while still flying. On the ground, he can lift a bus.

Clairvoyance – Something of a prophet, he can foresee certain things happening in the future. The visions are usually painful and cause him to lose power or sometimes faint.

Mental Pressure – Crest can shoot mental blasts at people (blasts that originate from the birthmark). These burst of energy can create a scrambling effect on a person resulting in pain, nausea, short-term amnesia, and disorientation.

Occupation: Teacher at the Institute; he teaches Biology and Chemistry.  
Appearance: A tall, strong looking kind of man, he stands well over six foot and towers above people. He has a natural tan (being part Korean) though his hair is a messy brownish color and his eyes are blue. He isn't bulky though he does have obvious muscles on him and seen as an intimidating figure with his features. His main feature is a birthmark on his mid-chest. It is black and in a spiral like form.  
Personality: Quite contradictory to his giant size, he is quite humble and gentle. He is a guardian above all and takes that title seriously. He seems like he always knows something he isn't letting on and seems an enigma even to the Priestess. He has proved his loyalty a few times before.  
History:

Early history unknown. Korean government refused to release.

When he was about twenty or so, he joined up with an operation to save the earth ((…you're getting sick of this I'm sure… so I'll skip ahead.))

After the crisis with the aliens, he temporarily left the team he was so fond of. In America, he met a young woman named Mona Crane. The two fell in love and were married. A year or so later, Mona gave birth to quadruplets. They named the four Laura, Nora, Orianna, and Perry. Crest's wife knew of his mutation but wasn't sure how to react with her four children being mutants. Not that she minded, but she didn't want her children to feel threatened by other people who were normal. So for many years, she had tried to keep them close and not very close to anyone other than each other and the people they could absolutely trust.

Crest soon went back to the Institute to work as a teacher, while Mona and the children lived close by… just in case.

Other: Crest's wings apparently hurt quite a lot when they come out… But something in Crest's blood allows his back and chest to heal faster than the rest of him.

Inspiration: Hmm… what to say… Well Crest was more of something I made up on the spot. He was a culmination of a bunch of earlier ideas basically. Well I'd wanted to make a character with wings because I liked the character Angel/Archangel but I didn't want him to be a spin-off of that character. So I added to him making him more like a psychic angel. …The idea for the Crest was also made up on the spot. I'd wanted to use the name Crest cuz… it's one of my favorite words. And then everything sort of came together. …Oh and if you didn't notice I made a pun with their names Kwan, Laura, Mona, Nora Orianna, and Perry are K, L, M, N, O, and P. …Yeah.

---

"You all come and go so quickly I think I might be getting whiplash…" The Priestess mused for a moment. It took a brief blink by just about everyone to understand just what she meant. But in the order they had all come in, they'd started to understand… slowly. The Priestess wasn't a good joke teller… oddly enough.

"We're almost ready now, correct?" Orion said hoping there would be no further intrusions.

"Ah! Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…" A young little flash zoomed by zigging and zagging back and forth. Along her way, she created little upheavals of random scattered papers from the wind she was producing.

"What did you do this time?" The Priestess asked shaking her head at the little figure that moved back and forth.

It finally stopped to reveal a young woman with glasses askew like her hair. They were big… big-framed glasses that looked awkward and when she took them off to wipe them she was squinting so it became obvious that she was nearly blind without them. "Well… I forgot… Eh… I forgot to turn the alarm system off so if anyone comes near the vicinity of the Institute's courtyard that isn't approved by any of us or isn't checked into the system will… be fired at…?" She quickly covered her head as she waited for the yelling.

"Robin…." Dominique began in a chiding sort of way. "Fix it. Now!" She said in a slightly irritated way. Who needed that much stress in one day?

"Ehehe… Well… Ms. Delaurie needs to put in the pass code that she designed for the system." Robin said with a slightly spacey look before looking to the Priestess. She took a deep breath and pressed one of the panels on the wall. The wall panel split open and revealed a technical looking device. The Priestess inputted the code, which made a delightful little ding as she finished. "Right. I'm off!" Robin said before zooming off again. In about half a minute she made it back. "Disaster averted. And the crowd goes wild woo--" And she dropped her glasses… It took a panicked look and searching on the ground to find it. "Ahah! The crowd goes wild again!"

"…She had coffee?" Horatio asked not asking anyone in particular. Everyone just sort of gave a sad little nod. It was obvious she had more than one cup.

---

Name: Robin Blackwell   
Codename: Sonic  
Age: 27   
Gender: Female  
Ethnic Background: English, Irish, and a bit of Seminole Indian

Affiliation: Generation XIII  
Mutation: Able to reach breakneck speeds in relatively little time, her abilities are rather diverse thanks to her imagination.

Super Speed – Robin can make it from 0-70 in under a second. At her fastest, she can run over a hundred and fifty mph. Her stamina is very low however, …not to mention she's clumsy.

Tornado – By spinning at a high speed she can actually create a small funnel, enough to capture a person in the vortex. The longer she spins, the more powerful it gets.

Maelstrom – By spinning in water she can create a small whirlpool.

Flurry – Robin is an avid martial artist, so don't be surprised when she overpowers someone vastly larger than her. With high speed, she can steadily weaken anyone.

Battering Ram – Though it has had bad effects (and comical ones), by rushing at high speeds she can bash into someone or something with enough momentum to dent steel.

Occupation: Teacher at the Institute; she teaches Economics, Business electives, and anything Technological.  
Appearance: Standing at a… rather unimpressive 5'3", she's got the appearance of a stereotypical geek. She's a scrawny little thing and the only remarkable feature about her is her glasses and lack of quality eyesight without them. She has a short brown hair that's usually quite messy though she sometimes pulls it back when she's working. It's not uncommon to see her in goggles as well. She has soft hazel eyes and an assortment of freckles.  
Personality: A bit of a scatterbrain… okay not a bit, she's a full-blown out of her mind scatterbrain. She's an absolute genius though. She designs some of the vital technology that runs the Institute such as the defense system, their training facilities, the security cameras, and even down to the showers. She is normally very cheerful and seems happy just to be of help.  
History: Nothing impressive… normal family… normal… and then the alien thing so fast forward a bit…

Robin, after the incident with her team and the aliens began to attack, Robin went on a soul search. She went back to her hometown in Florida where she met a fierce opposition of mutant protesters. …Fleeing back to Canada (on foot) for fear that her parents and friends would be ostracized for knowing her, she met back up with the team.

It was then that she used her technological know-how for the good of the whole team and designed the infrastructure of the Institute and it's systems. She also began to work as a teacher though it's not uncommon to see her scrambling around.

Other: Her vision is absolutely horrible. People joke saying she's 'near sighted and farsighted' …She just knows her vision is bad.

Inspiration: Well, Robin is a modification of an old old ancient-type character. …The basic things are included, nerdy, geeky, clumsy… I couldn't think of an adequate power but then I had the thought of a clumsy girl tripping at high speed… and after laughing hysterically at the thought, that's what I decided it should be. …I also don't know about her love life… hmm.. she's more the type to fall in love with someone who's either neutral or evil and she doesn't know it.

"Well now that that little episode is done. …I think they should be arriving soon. Robin, please go inform the chefs to have the food ready for seven o'clock. Demeter, Horatio, if you would, please open the front gate? Dominique, I need you to go make sure that the rooms are unlocked for our guests. Crest, Orion… please help me in greeting our new arrivals, won't you?" The Priestess said rather good at dishing out orders.

"Aye aye Captain. Ze food shall be ready in ze galley!" Robin said in a geeky mock French sort of way, trying to get a rise out of Dominique, who's French accent was natural, and less obnoxious. And before she could face the wrath of Magi, Robin rushed off towards the dining hall.

"Come on sweetie, maybe we'll see August and Phoebe. Oh I'm so nervous…" Demeter said actually having to pull Horatio along. "Ah. The look of them in their training suits… Darling, I think I'm going to cry…" She said nearing the front door before opening it. Their voices still carried though.

"Please don't actually cry. You promised August and Phoebe…" Horatio said shaking his head from the doorway. Finally the large wooden (but metal reinforced) doors had been closed.

Dominique took a deep breath. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to stand another one of their lovey dovey attacks…" She had originally thought of saying they should get a divorce but she was truly happy they had found someone to be in love with. And with a few mumblings to herself, Dominique went upstairs to check on the doors. A while later she came back down to report they were all ready and accounted for. The names of the person or roommates would be on the door. Those with mutations that were dangerous to others or that might appear strange to others were put in rooms by themselves while others with less extreme ones were given roommates.

"Are you nervous Priestess?" Orion said looking to her. It was minute but he could sense her apprehension.

"No. No of course not." She denied it but Orion was right. She had been trembling a bit but now forced herself to stop.

And with that… the large wooden doors of the Canadian Institute of Higher Learning opened with a slight creak that echoed throughout the hallways….

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Chapter 1: The Beginning of a New Year

Next Chapter: New Arrivals and Adjustments

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((Author Note: Ah... tis done at last. Well first chapter. ...In the following chapters I'll start to work in villains and the actual students themselves. I have all that much planned out. It's just a question of how lazy am I to sit down and write it.

I hope to have a new chapter up... at least somewhat frequently.

Oh... and I'll try to add some regular X-Men (the original ones) into the story if I can. But right now I need to develop the actual main characters.

Those profiles are the most draining thing though. I just wanted to write but then I knew that just explaining the character wasn't enough. I like to know a little bit about the characters before I read anyway. Thanks. Good reviews are always nice... and encouraging.))


	2. Arrivals and Adjustments

Chapter 2: New Arrivals and New Adjustments

((Ah... 2nd chapter already... I'll do my best!

Oh quick thing. It's important to tell you that the teachers I listed so far are not the only ones. That'd be... insane. There are many others but these are the main ones. If I need to bring in another teacher, I'll just sum up what's important like who they are what they look like and what they can do. Yeah... I think I may have gone overboard with those profiles... I'll try to tone it down... and I'll get rid of the history thing for the students because it's more fun that it's developed later on. Villains I'll give a brief synopsis of their life. Yadda yadda... okay. Please enjoy chapter 2 ))

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As the cold wooden doors opened with their soft creak that seemed amplified by the acoustics of the old estate and its hallways, for a brief moment that felt like eternity every time...

There was always a feeling of anxiety... that built up right until the door opened. It was the same feeling that one experienced opening the door to a new classroom for the first time, the feeling of coming home for the holidays; this feeling was the anxiety brought about by new beginnings.

And like always, they were unsettling at first. The anxiety built up until the very last moment where it all melted away in one instant. And it did like always.

The door opened and the sunlight became shadowed by students walking into a new place. A new world for them. After years and years of fear, distrust, and being misunderstood... this was the place they would soon regard as their sanctuary. Here they did not have to be afraid of others as they were with the normal people. Here they all had some sort of mutation, and though they were different, they all had one thing in common.

"Welcome to the Canadian Institute of Higher Learning. My name is Ms. Delaurie, or you may address me as the Priestess." She said as the children walked in, a bit tentative at first, but soon began to fill the foyer. "Some of you may know each other... some of you do not. Some may know who some of the teachers are, while others of you may be at a loss. But I assure you... in a short time, you will make new friends, and hopefully will find new friends in your teachers." The Priestess spoke with a kind of grace and eloquence befitting of her character... and though it was unsettling to see someone so composed like that when most people were not, it gave the students a sense of her nature, but also seemed to give them confidence in her as a leader. True, she had that effect naturally on people, but in some cases she really had to work to convince people of her leadership abilities.

"Now then... I would introduce you to the staff but since this is technically a school, after Ms. Rosalina shows you where to find your rooms, you will be given your schedule. Please attend your classes, but be aware that you will need nothing but yourselves for the first day. Supplies will be given out when classes officially begin. For now, we just want to get you used to facility. There are... three main people that you should become acquainted with above the rest of the staff, though it is wise to become acquainted with all..."

The Priestess was very good at this for someone who had been trembling earlier... it got easier once the doors closed again.

"First of all... our in-house doctor, teacher of French, and your Physical Education classes... Ms. Dominique Yvonne Rosalina. Ms. Rosalina...?" She gestured to Dominique with a dignified hand.

"Yes, of course." Dominique responded before taking a position in front. "Good day. My name is Dominique Yvonne Rosalina. But please, if it's easier than Ms. Rosalina, call me Ms. Dominique, or if you prefer my alias, Magi. Ms. Delaurie has told you what I teach already, but it is important for you to know where to find me." She said gesturing to the right wing.

"My office is the one with my name on it in the right wing hallway. Look for the plate with my name, or look for the room marked D 306." She spoke slowly so people would be able to keep track and commit it to memory. "Now... I know it's rather old fashioned, but it must be done..." She said and the students were quick to make a slight grumble. Apparently they knew what might be coming... well she was a doctor so it became obvious rather quickly. "You all will need a physical later today. This will be able to show us the obvious basic things, but we will also do a preliminary exam of what your powers involve. ...This will help us designate the extent of what you can do, how good your control is, and also what type of power training team you'll be put into." ...This just meant they wanted to see their height, blood, weight, any illnesses, see what they could do, whether they were a danger to anyone else or themselves, and how they should put them in little groups.

But as she finished speaking a small anxious looking boy, already going red raised his hand. Magi nodded and he began to speak. "But... what about... the boys..?" Somehow, it was slightly awkward to be seen like that by a female doctor, though it was perfectly understandable.

"Good question. Fear not, for this examination, there will be four people doing the test. Myself, Mrs. Reznik over there..." She said pointing to Demeter who gave a happy little wave. "And for the boys, Mr. Seong-Crane, and Mr. Castilla will be attending to you." She said pointing to Crest and Orion. Orion, had not been informed he would be initiating the test but had kept his poker face up.

_Relax, Raphael... it was either you, or Horatio..._ The voice of the Priestess entered his head and he turned to her. The mental message was returned with a reluctant affirmation by Orion. How had he been roped into this? ...Oh well. If the Priestess wanted him to do it, it was alright.

"Finally, when we're done here, you will put your things in your room before going to the physical examination rooms. Boys A-M will be seeing Mr. Castilla in the right wing D 309, and boys N-Z will see Mr. Seong-Crane in right wing D 312. Girls A-M will be seeing me in left wing C 405 and girls N-Z will see Mrs. Reznik in left wing C 307. Thank you. Continue Ms. Delaurie." Dominique had sounded... almost unnervingly calm like the Priestess. Maybe that was why they got along so well. It was... strange...

"Thank you Magi. Now the next person of importance you should know is Ms. Blackwell. She is the technical mind that has devised and designed almost everything you see. The high-tech gizmos are all of her design. If you have any problems with any devices, please talk to her. Ms. Blackwell?"

Robin nervously took center stage and smiled before giving a slight nervous chuckle. She was... much shorter than most of the people there and her glasses were a sight to behold. At least she put people at ease. "Ehehe... nice to meet you. I'm Ms. Robin Blackwell." Somehow... she hated saying Ms... it just made her seem so single and lonely. For a moment she paused before continuing. "You may call me Ms. Blackwell or Sonic. ...Oh but you'll see what I can do later. Haha.. oh right!" She said in a spacey sort of way. "Well. If you need anything technics-wise I'm the person to talk to. And don't worry, after your physicals, we'll put your DNA in the system and all you'll never have to worry about being fired upon by lasers in the courtyard or any of the other security devices..." Somehow there was a general feeling of fear in the way she put that they'd be fired at by lasers... if they didn't take the physical. That was some nice insurance... Well really it just made everything easier in the end. "Um... I'll turn things back to Priestess. She knows best!" Robin said before scurrying off stage.

"Yes... Well the last person you'll need to acquaint yourself if Mr. Castilla. Here, he is my second-in-command and my top adviser. He knows the place inside and out, almost as well as I do. If you have any problems, you should see him..." She motioned for Orion to take the stage now. ...Well it was more just the floor but same principle applied.

"Yes. Hola. Bienvenidos y felicitaciones..." He said speaking in Spanish for a moment. A few people could understand at least that basic of Spanish but some (who probably took other languages) did not. "Here you may call me Mr. Castilla... or for some of you it will be Sr. Castilla, or if it makes it easier, Orion. Some of you will see me for Spanish, and others for World History. If you have problems fitting in or problems with your powers in any way, or things of that nature, please see me. This is not the place to be ashamed of your gifts. Gracias." He said respectfully before the Priestess took control of the floor again.

"Now please take your things and search out your rooms. Then report to the rooms assigned for your physical. Dinner will be at 7:00 pm sharp. Lights out will be at 11 pm and 1 am on weekends. Please do not roam the hallways at night unless you really must. There will be no visitors in any room not specified as your own past lights out. Failure to comply... well just don't do it, I'd rather surprise the people who disobey... Please make it a habit of not being late. Punctuality is one thing I try to enforce." The Priestess spoke with a mysterious air about her and turned away before making it back to her office.

And with that, the students were allowed to leave and go to their rooms. Their names were posted on the door. As students went back and forth, some gliding, some running, some zooming, some actually flying, their voices began to echo the hallways. After about 45 minutes or so the voice of the Priestess emerged on the PA system.

"Students, it is time for the physicals to begin. Please stop what you are doing for now and go to your appointed rooms. Once again it's: Boys A-M report to D 309. Boys N-Z D 312. Girls A-M C 405. Girls N-Z C 307. Please hurry now..." She said before the PA system made a soft click. At once, lines of young students began to pour into the hallways. They soon found their rightful rooms and four lines of students emerged in the hallways. There was a sign posted on the door that said to get undressed behind the curtain upon entering.

----

Soon it was young one boy's turn. He tentatively stopped at the door and read the sign. A sudden surge of anxiety began to slowly not his stomach. He had to see Mr. Castilla... the one called Orion. He convinced himself that it wouldn't be too bad and that it'd be over relatively shortly. He hoped anyway...

As some of the boys in line grew rather impatient and some dreading their own turn, the boy stepped into the room and closed the door. The room was set aside as sort of like an infirmary type room. It was an examination room. The actual infirmary was something like that and located nearby but this was the room where patients were first analyzed to see what was wrong with them... sort of like a nurse's office before the nurse let the person lie down... He saw Orion, surprisingly not in a labcoat like he'd expected.

Orion was not a doctor, though the teachers were licensed to perform small exams such as this and other life-saving techniques, on account of them being formed into a team where it could be used when fighting the alien invaders. He was wearing his training suit... or at least it was something like it. It was in fact a training suit, but Orion was not fond of it and the Priestess allowed modifications to fit the person's needs so long as they were approved. Sometimes it was easier for people to breathe if they split the suit into 2 parts, or things like that.

In fact, Orion's was black (as was the mandate) and looked like he had alterred it quite a bit. In fact he had, Orion in the olden days was still controlling his powers and his arms would ocassionally throb because he didn't know how to control them completely. So to compensate, he'd gotten rid of the sleeves except for the top where they met his shoulders. It was designed so he could rub his arms or put medication on them if they began to hurt. The suit was also split into two parts, one was the top, and the other was the bottom. The bottoms looked like regular black slacks and he wore black boots that matched the pants. The top looked like it was probably armor-plated somehow and gave the boy a sense of what Orion's physique was by seeing his arms.

"Ah yes. Please..." He said pointing to the curtain. "Don't worry. This won't be very hard or very long..." He said in a reassuring way. The boy nodded and complied, stepping behind the curtain and began to undress as was specified. When he stepped out, he was flushing a bit. Well, granted it was unnerving to be in front of anyone in just their underwear. "Okay... please get up on the table and lie back for me. Don't worry. There's only one painful part and I'll save it for the end when you can go..." Orion surprised this boy... he had expected that Orion was as cold as the Priestess seemed but really he was much more kind than he'd thought. He complied, feeling the initial anxiety go away, though it returned a bit wondering what was painful... he could only imagine.

Orion looked him over before checking a device on the table. "Five feet... nine inches... weight is... one-hundred twenty six..." He said writing it down. The table was actually a measuring device... designed by Robin herself who personally thought the idea of standing on a scale was humiliating for anyone so a table was much more... comforting at least. It seemed to work and the boy looked surprised that Orion was reading his measurements like that. "Now then. Your name please?"

The boy paused for a moment pushing all thoughts to the back of his mind. "Ren. Ren DuTour." He said in a quiet voice. Ren had brownish blondish hair and green eyes and looked a teeny bit nervous. Though... he always looked a teeny bit nervous.

"Ah I see. Mr. DuTour. That's a French name but I remember seeing your name on my class schedule for Spanish. Is just your name French?" He asked as he wrote the name down.

"Well... my dad is French but I always liked Spanish better. I can spell it better than French... We're American. I moved to Montreal when... my powers developed... though we moved again after... some things happened..." Ren decided to say things all at once hoping to avoid more questions. Being on an examination table was actually kind of creepy in a way.

"Ah I see. You can sit up. I need to take your blood pressure and check your breathing now..." Orion said grabbing a stethoscope and put it to Ren's chest to check his breathing. The shock of the sudden cold was enough to trigger something in Ren and without meaning to one of the lightbulbs sparked and flickered out. Orion looked up at the light.

"Oh! I'm sorry. My powers are... electric... sometimes when I get surprised or scared they activate and short things out..." Orion marked it down nodding. Somehow Ren was a bit nervous about that... writing was okay but he didn't know what he was writing. "They're... pretty powerful... I'm not very good at controlling them."

Orion nodded. "Yes I know. I remember reading the report on you from Montreal. Stratus is your codename... correct?" He could see Ren's face pale a bit. "It's okay. I've been there too with my powers. They get easier to control with practice. But I think you may be one of the more powerful mutants with electrokinesis ((A/N: ...I'm not sure if that's the technical term. Bear with me ne?)) that I've seen in a while. Canadian government wrote it off as a widespread electrical surge... thanks to Ms. Delaurie's intervention." He said quietly.

"She... did that for me? I thought it was just them covering it up..." Ren said a bit embarrassed that he had judged the Priestess like that and she had already done a lot for him.

"Oh yes. She took a special interest in you. You're one of the ones that are in the special group. The group is mainly for the ones with powers their bodies can't completely control but they're very powerful and presumed somewhat dangerous or... unnatural by society." Orion said checking Ren's pulse.

"Special group...?" Ren repeated a bit confused.

"Indeed. This group is involved in special training missions... as well as a few special missions themselves. While the Institute is for helping the control of powers in mutants... the ones with exceptional skills become something of guardians. But you're lucky, your powers make you special. Now hold still.. this is the painful part..." He said and before Ren could ask what it was, he began to quickly rub rubbing alcohol on the junction between his arms where his elbow was. Ren knew a needle was coming... of course... and before he realized it, Orion had stuck the needle in with a slight twinge of pain. Ren looked away... for fear that he would faint like the last time he saw his own blood like that. "And... good." He said taking the needle out... somehow the needle going out was more painful for him. "Now this is partly for us, but it's also how we input your DNA into the system." ...So that was what Robin had meant.

((Inspiration: ...Ren is 100 mine and the first character I'd thought up. I betrayed my little oath about elemental characters first with him. Haha... but really lightning is fun... Though it was partly based off Storm (my all time favorite) I left out the weather type thing... I figured that'd be just a kind of spin-off of Storm. Somehow it's easier just to call him Ren rather than his codename which is Stratus... Moving on then...))

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After Ren left, a new boy came into the room. He moved behind the curtain quickly and undressed as well. Orion had not been paying attention to the figure behind the curtain but once it stepped out, Orion couldn't help but be slightly shocked. The boy was... different. Now, granted, all the students were different but only a fraction of those were mutated on the outside somehow. "Nice to meet you. Your name?" He asked gesturing for the boy to sit down and then lie down like Ren had done.

"Miguel. Miguel Delgato. My codename is Quetzalcoatl or just Quetzal..." He said with a slight accent.

"Ah. I see." Orion said as he checked the name off his list... because of how long it would take to organize the boys alphabetically, it was easier just to check them off as they arrived. "Your Brazilian I see. Your accent is Portuguese but your transcript says Brazil not Portugal." He said marking down his obvious powers and abilities.

"Sim..." He said in Portuguese to Orion.

Orion smiled some. "É um prazer conhecê-te." He said speaking a bit of Portuguese. Being raised in Spain, Spanish and Portuguese were widely similar. And Portugal was a place, he and his family had visited many times because they were so close. "Let's stick to English shall we? My Portuguese is rather rusty..." He said admitting.

He wrote something down on his pad about his mutations... and there was a lot to write. True to the name of Quetzalcoatl, or rather Quetzal, the boy had an appearance... that could not be forgotten. First and foremost, he had a pair of wings attached to his back. They were nothing like Crest's being they were multi-colored and appeared to be attached rather than retractable. Next, Orion noticed his snake-like eyes.. as well as the fangs in his mouth when he spoke. The fangs didn't look too big but would definitely hurt. Next was the white snake-like tail that was present. But unlinke a snake, this boy did have legs. The hole for the tail was in all of his pants and clothing that went on his lower body, and was usually covered by a trenchcoat that Miguel had deposited when he first came in.

Though he did have the rest of his body normal. He was tanned from being Brazilian and had brownish hair and yellow eyes.

After much of the same tests he'd done with Ren, Miguel was ready to go. "Oh yes, before you go. We had your training suit custom made for you. Also, you are apart of a special team for your mutant abilities. But we'll give you more information later on." He said as Miguel nodded and dressed and then left.

((Miguel is not mine... ;; No he belongs to one of my friends. So if I find some way to thank them I will... but for now it's just worth saying that Miguel's not my creation.))

---

For Mr. Seong-Crane, or rather Crest, his job was the same as Orion's... maybe a little more difficult because of his appearance. But still, his amiable nature soon took over. "Please take a seat once you've..." He turned his head to see a boy in a black bodysuit. He had shed his other clothing but that and his gloves and a black pair of socks, and then took his place on the examination table. "You read the sign didn't you?"

"I can't take this off... or..." He said before taking his glove off. He pressed his bare hand to the wall and within a matter of seconds the small portion of the wall began to dissolve. He quietly put his glove back on his hand and sat on the table. "My name is Mordred Rowley... the codename is Vitriol." He said quietly waiting for Crest to write it down.

"So you're the one they were talking about. They said someone this year had acidic skin. Nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Seong-Crane. Call me Crest." He said quietly.

In actuality, Mordred Rowley's skin was acidic... though in his hands was the highest concentration. The rest of his body was acidic (besides his feet) as well but only his hands could dissolve something and eat away at it in little to no time. For the rest of his body, the acid skin wasn't quite as drastic. He wore a specialized suit to keep the acid from burning through anything and everything and specialized gloves that would be worn at all times and had special sorts of vents to keep his hands from getting sweaty and relieve discomfort.

"You've been assigned to a special team. You'll hear more about it later." And after the same sorts of things that had occured with all the boys so far was done... though it was rather difficult to obtain Vitriol's blood, he was allowed to leave.

((Vitriol is not mine also. Mordred was created by my other friend. ...I did have to look up Vitriol and found out it's a sulfuric acid. ;; Funfact... okay then...))

---

Next to arrive was another young man but after he laid back on the table, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses.

"Before you say anything... if I take them off, you'll relive your most painful memory only way more painful... I'm Craig McConnel. They sent me here because the other room was a bit behind." He said in a confident sort of way. He was about a year or so older than the other boys who had come by.

"Ah so you're Reflect. You're also part of a special group. You'll hear an announcement later... but the transcript says that your main power is not your eyes but in generating shields and repelling things with them... and also mirror traveling. Correct?"

"Yes." Craig said as he sat up after Crest had said it was alright to. "I can control the powers except for the one with my eyes..." He sounded rather bored as he said this, having said the same thing many times before.

"Alright... hold still. This may sting a bit..." He said before taking the blood sample. Reflect's natural reaction was to form a barrier and he did, making the needle crack.

"I'm sorry... You... caught me off guard..." He said a bit embarrassed.

"No problem... I don't like them either. Now please brace yourself this time...?" Crest said before sticking him with the needle again. This time nothing happened and Reflect was allowed to leave.

((Still not my character... ;; The one who made this one also made up Miguel. ...Though I have kept one rather crucial thing about this one secret... it will be revealed... soon... haha... ))

---

On the other side of the building, Demeter was having her examinees do the same as the boys. They had to undress and lay on the same kinds of tables. One of the first girls to be admitted in was a sheepish young girl, much too shy to really say anything or do anything besides comply with everything. She stepped behind the curtain quickly and undressed slowly, finding this part to be the worst. The girl was very self-conscious about her body, though there was nothing really to worry about it. She was actually sort of scrawny. After the initial measurements were done, Demeter began her real exam.

"Oh sorry, I forgot your name, sweetie what is it?" Demeter said with a warm attitude.

"Uhh... it's Amy... Amy Johnson... Oh! ...Prism?" She said not sure if she wanted her real name or the codename. She crossed her arms over her chest a bit embarrassed.

"Oh nice to meet you Amy. Call me Demeter. Oh! Here you are. You're apart of a special team... says here you're a telekinetic.. and an empath? Nice to meet someone of your powers. We don't get many telekinetics besides Ms. Delaurie and a few others. But I think you may be our first empath."

"Oh... really...?" She asked trying to be polite. Demeter's warm attitude was rather comforting to the young nervous girl.

"Yes. I believe so. Well... one last thing before you go. Sorry it may sting a bit. But try to focus on something else..." Demeter said before she began to rub Amy's arm with rubbing alcohol where the needle would go. Amy knew what was going to happen so she did her best to brace for it. But when the needle went in, things started to float a bit off the ground. And not until the needle came out did the things set down with a loud sound. "You take needles like the Priestess used to... You can get dressed now. We're done, sweetie."

((Amy is not my character either. Her creator was the one who made up the Priestess. Thanks Crayola. If I find you to thank you I will... I definitely get a Jean Grey sense from Prism. And I am not really sure how she picked the codename... oh well. ))

---

Meanwhile in Magi's examination room another girl was ready for her physical. She felt lucky she had gotten the actual doctor but still a bit nervous.

"My name is Colette... Colette Mason. I can.. manipulate time. Oh! ...Pendulum." She said trying to start it off.

"I see. Well welcome Ms. Mason. Now please hold still..." She said administering the same tests to her as the others. Colette had golden blonde hair and brown eyes. Her hair was long and wavy as well.

After the tests were over for Colette, Dominique checked her name off.

"Ah... Ms. Mason, you will be apart of a special team... please listen to the anouncements regarding it." She said as she took the needle filled with Colette's blood and emptied it into a vile. "Alright Ms. Mason. You're free to go. You have some free time before dinner. The library is open today if you wish to go there..." Dominique said making a slight suggestion.

"Thank you. I'll check it out." She said with a slight smile. Colette wasn't a library bookworm but it was a good idea to get a feel for the place anyway.

((Colette... is mine. She's a modification though. At first I thought of giving Robin her power to freeze time and manipulate it so that it looked like she was fast because everyone else was slow... but I decided that it was better just to give super speed to her, and let Colette have time. Besides, I didn't like the name Pendulum for Robin... Hmm... I don't really like Sonic for her either. I was considering Metronome for Colette or even Chronos... but that sounded weird.))

---

After the tests and physicals had concluded, Dreamscape and Golem were given the duty of inputting the data. Golem and Dreamscape were... assistants at best. They weren't teachers but worked for Robin and also for Magi. The two of them were twins but Dreamscape had the power to influence dreamlike illusions for anyone he chose and Golem had the power to turn herself into a gigantic rock giant.

The two were skilled in medicine and in technology but mainly input data or worked to attend to a patient. They were always bickering though... the two looked exactly alike... except Golem's hair was much longer... but other than that they looked the same.

"All finished Priestess..." Golem said waving to the Priestess and Orion as they entered the training room.

"We input all the files and DNA into the system. We also updated your special group's information special for ya." Dreamscape said with a nod.

"Good work you two. You're free to go... just please don't break anything."

"Yes, ma'am." The twins said at the same time before walking.. exactly the same way, right next to each other. They were even wearing the exact same colors. They both had white t-shirts on and Dreamscape wore navy jeans, while Golem wore the exact same color navy only as a jean-skirt. After the two left, the Priestess and Orion made there way to the control room.

"So now what's in store for them?"

"Well... for today I'll let them adjust. But tomorrow they will have a special training mission. I'd like to see how well they work as a team. That's the most important thing right now." Priestess said before bringing up the file on the team that Dreamscape had alluded to. The file showed the members of the group and their powers.

"Why just these ones? Weren't you considering Crest's girl Nora Seong-Crane in this group as well?" Orion asked a bit confused looking over the ones she had picked. "And why these ones in particular? ...Or is there even a reason?" Orion asked skeptically. Usually, the Priestess organized them in her own design... which meant sometimes there was a specific reason for balance... or she put someone of each talent in a group to blend talents.

"Well. Nora is very good at nullifying other's powers. Even my own if I'm not careful. But... her powers have a random effect. The range has not been perfected and she cannot use them and leave out the members of her team... Meaning she uses them and hurts her own team as well. She's in a group for range control and powers that affect both sides." She said quietly.

"As for your second question... There: Ren DuTour... electrokinetic and a technopath. Though he lacks a bit of control... you've seen the reports from Montreal. When Ren develops his powers, he could possibly bring an industrialized nation to its knees in a matter of hours. Amy Johnson. Though I do enjoy having someone to share my expertise of psychic powers with... her powers are more advanced in telekinesis than mine were at that age... granted she's moving at a slower pace than I did but... she can lift up to 500 pounds with her mind, and 200 pounds for extended amounts of time. Thinking in terms of that, she could easily flip over tanks and cars... she may even be able to cripple an army." She said quietly.

"Then there's Mr. Delgato. Though he has no long-ranged attacks... his speed and strength are higher than any of the others with just his bare hands. With his claws and tail and teeth, he could easily be the best and hand to hand combat. Mr. Rowley acidic skin means there is nearly nothing that can stop his path. He could dissolve metals of all different kinds. Then there's Mr. McConnel. He has the highest defense of the team. He could deflect bullets, rockets, lasers, and even physical attacks with half the damage returned. Not only that, but he can teleport the others if they are in immediate danger so long as there is a mirror. Finally, Ms. Mason... her chronopathic (time... kinetical? ...ehehe... chronopathic sounds smarter though) abilities make her one of the ones to anticipate attacks better than anyone. She could freeze a barrage of bullets and enable the others to escape or launch a much faster physical charge if she needed to. They all compliment each other... Much the way our team does." She said quietly.

"Uh huh... Well yes but we don't know how well they'll work as a team. Even our team had one... malcontent. And look what happened to him..." Orion said quietly.

"Yes... well we'll keep an eye on them. ...Speaking of which, any word on what _he_ has in store for us...?"

"Well... it's probably true that he knows we're accepting members again. That means he'll probably be starting some sort of attack soon. ...But I have heard that in his ranks he has the Russian boy who phases through things and has the touch of death... and also... he recruited Marcelina..." Orion said nearly faltering on the last part of the sentence.

"He recruited Marcelina? ...Orion... you must be very careful. It's probably you she'll be after..." The Priestess said standing and turning the computer off.

"So who's Marcelina? Orion's got a girlfriend...?" Viola said as she and Robin stepped into the room.

"Not quite, Viola..." Orion said quietly. "Marcelina Aragon... or the Contessa... I knew her back when I was in Spain." He said quietly.

"So... what's so dangerous about her?" Robin said with an inquisitive look.

"When I was traveling in Spain with my parents and had just acquired my powers, we had made it to Alicante... a resort city with palm trees etc... Well anyway, I was one of the kinds of people who wanted to see the sites and on the island of Tarabarca, I met Marcelina. Marcelina has the power to hypnotize and create illusions. By placing her hands on a person's head or face, she can manipulate what the person thinks or feels, and the effect is as long-lasting as she wants it to be... unless the hold is broken over the person. She used her powers all over Spain so many people knew of the Contessa.

When I met her, she apparently knew of my powers and wanted to make me her husband. I was not in love with Marcelina, and I did not know of her powers. She attempted to hypnotize me but... I resisted learning of her powers. I did not want to fall in love with someone because she manipulated my heart. That is not love." He said quietly.

"Oh so she's got the hots for you?" Robin asked... respectfully. The Priestess knew this story already and Viola put her index finger to her chin as she heard it.

"...I suppose so. But I did not love her. Not the way she wanted me too. ...And I doubt I ever will. I left it at that until Marcelina decided to raise an army of Spaniards under her control. It took Kiera and I to stop her finally. But... it appears... _he_ recruited her..."

"He...?" Robin asked quietly before understanding. This caused her to nervously put her hand to her face.

"He... you mean...?" Viola asked a bit afraid. Orion gave a solemn nod. "Yes. He recruited Marcelina to his side."

"We had best be... on our guard. Marcelina is no pushover... and on his side... We don't know what to expect from her but Orion, you must be the most careful of all..." The Priestess said with a slightly anxious hair twirling but her face was emotionless.

((Marcelina is my creation. We needed an evil woman... it just... must be done. And she's a mesmerizer. Think Mesmero. That's Marcelina... and she's evil. And in love with Orion. Hah. ...Oh and it was a pun on their names. Raphael Castilla and Marcelina Aragon I mean. Castilla and Aragon were two territories of Spain brought together by Queen Isabella of Castilla, and King Ferdinand of Aragon. ...It's ironic that Raphael and Marcelina are pulled apart and not together... well Marcelina would want them to. ...Marcelina's personality is a modification of my old character who was obsessed with one character of mine... though they secretly loved each other. It's much more fun this way haha.))

---

Elsewhere, in the library... dangerous things were about to happen.

Miguel and Colette had enterred the room together. They didn't exactly know each other but had awkwardly bumped into each other (literally) in the hallway. So they had begun small talk.

Mordred was reading The Alchemist alone at a table by the balcony. Ren was floating by a bookshelf on the second floor trying to pick out a book to read.

But this particular adventure starts off with Amy.

Amy, who was carrying a large stack of books that... made it actually above her head, so she couldn't see, was looking for one last book. She was wearing a purple sweater with a long black skirt. Amy could pass as a flower child if she wanted. Her hair was a brownish red with more red highlights in the light and her eyes were a hazel color. She put down her precarious stack of books and checked a bookshelf, next to where Ren was.

"Just... a little more..." She said whispering to herself. And before she knew it... the book came tumbling down. She made a blind movement to catch it but failed inevitably. It hit the ground with an echoing thump. This thump made, the now floating Ren, who was closest to the noise, be startled... and covered his head as his hands sparked and a few of the lightbulbs that lit the library exploded and sparked. Amy looked to Ren realizing she had startled him and caused him to use his powers by accident.

"I'm sorry!" She announced gathering her books and making a mad dash. She was very mortified by now. The lights had flickered and sparked a bit after Ren's surge of power. Mordred who was reading to himself, while walking, was bumped by Amy and her mountain of books wobbled. "I'm sorry!" She said not staying long enough for him to grumble or be annoyed at her.

Though... Amy, not being able to see over her books didn't realize she was heading for the balcony...

The library was two floors. The floors were connected by a spiral staircase and had a balcony overlooking the first floor. Colette and Miguel were talking underneath the balcony, but Amy in her blindness, hit the balcony railing. The books spilled out of her hands and it began raining books, but Amy because of her momentum, had flipped over the railing and began to fall.

Mordred saw her and immediately charged after her to stop her but he was unable to prevent her fall. So instead, he grabbed her wrist as she nearly fell. Mordred grasped the railing with his free hand tigthly and dug his heels into the floor, though it was carpet so there was no real resistance to stop him.

On top of that, Mordred was wearing his gloves... which had next to no grip. So slowly, his hand slipped from her wrist and then grabbed her hand. Amy's hand began to slip and she knew it. She had both hands on his hand, and actually pulled his glove off before resuming her plummet. And she was falling... falling... just falling. It all seemed like slow motion to hear people gasp and Mordred's helpless expression.

Ren had been nearby and saw her lose her grip with Mordred and immediately dove over the balcony to get her. Another gasp by the people watching. Ren was able to get a hold of her waist before she hit the ground and began to float. So Ren had saved her and gently descended for the ground.

Colette and Miguel had another problem to worry about. The shower of books was coming straight for them. Colette gasped and froze the books in place with her powers and Miguel grabbed them before they could crash to the ground.

Amy and Ren slowly landed on the ground and the crowd, who had been watching breathlessly, gave a deep sigh of relief. Amy landed on the ground, still clenching her eyes shut, but once she opened them to reveal her clinging to Ren's waist out of instinct she looked up and everything went back... another gasp.

---

In the infirmary, Colette, Miguel, Ren, and Mordred waited for Amy to wake up. Once she finally did, their faces, besides Mordred's lit up.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked quickly.

"We were so worried..." Colette responded as well.

"...Can I have my glove back please?" Mordred responded quite... annoyed actually. Ren and Colette had stolen his words and there was nothing left to say. Amy glanced at her hands and saw she was still holding the glove.

"Oh. I'm so sorry." She said handing him the glove back, which he took, a bit slowly so she didn't get the wrong impression and he placed it back on. "What... happened...?"

"You fell from the balcony in the library. Ren saved you. Remember?" Ren blinked for a moment.

"Oh... that's right... I'm... so sorry for the inconvenience..." She said looking to them all. The others had apparently introduced themselves after getting her to the infirmary. "Oh! I'm Amy... Amy Johnson."

"Well, Ms. Johnson. You're lucky. That fall could've been quite a dangerous one. One that would've made my head throb..." Magi said quietly as she emerged in the room. "Are you alright? Nothing bruised? Ms. Mason and Mr. Delgato were able to save your books for you. Next time, ask for a bag." Magi said trying to be disciplinary and compassionate... it was amazing that it worked.

"Yes. I understand..." Amy said getting up a bit wobbily. Mordred was able to catch her before she fell again. "...Sorry." She said getting her land legs again. Her dizziness soon passed and she stood on her own.

"I must say... I hadn't expected five out of six of you to meet until tomorrow. Well... you five are all apart of the special group you've heard about. Such a coincidence. It must be... Destiny..." Dominique said cryptically. "Dinner started fifteen minutes ago. You should all hurry along and get something to eat. If the Priestess asks why you're late, just tell her I kept you..." Magi said with a nod.

---

The five of them walked through the hallways... well four did, Ren preferred floating along to walking. It wasn't to show off but it was less tiring on his left knee which was perpetually limited.

"Is this the way to the Dining Hall?" Colette said as they made it to a hallway stretching in two directions. Colette was pointing to the left.

_Go left and then take your second right. Look for the large wooden doors. That's the Dining Hall. Hurry up. You don't want to be any later... _The voice of the Priestess echoed in each of their minds causing them to jump. Ren covered his hands before something sparked out of control.

"You all heard that?" Miguel said quietly.

"Well Ms. Delaurie is a telepath..." Mordred said in a 'duh' sort of way.

---

The dining hall was huge... there were about ten different tables with one two main tables. One was the teacher's table where they all sat and ate together. It was a bunch of round tables but many of them were spacious. In the middle was something of a buffet table. The tables were divided by groups and they were encouraged to sit there, though it wasn't mandatory. It was mainly so they could socialize with their own group.

The five of them entered and spotted their empty table as the only empty one left. There was only one person's things on a chair at the table. They looked at the little note on the table that listed who would be sitting there.

_Miguel Delgato_

_Ren DuTour_

_Colette Mason_

_Craig McConnel_

_Amy Johnson_

_Modred Rowley_

"Ah... so this person's things must be... Craig McConnel's?" Amy said quietly before claiming a seat. They all claimed a seat before realizing they needed food. There was a small group of people at the food line. They all went up together and decided to get some food.

There were things from crab legs to meatloaf to kung pao chicken to shrimp... a large variety of food was there in fact. Almost exactly like a buffet. Ren floated along with his plate. His plate was mostly covered with seafood and pasta type things. Those were his absolute favorites. Amy's plate consisted of a large antipasto salad and a cup of clam chowder. Mordred was apparently one who liked chinese food and had different types of noodles and chicken on his plate. Colette had claimed Italian and French food ranging from baguettes to different types of pasta in marsala sauce and marinara for others. Miguel was all about spicy food and had things from spicy chicken, to spicy pork, and had found mexican food which was always good.

Ren navigated his way to get a soda and accidentally bumped someone. Their tray rattled but nothing fell.

"Oh I'm so sorry..." Ren said putting his tray down to see if he had hurt anyone.

"It's alright. No harm done." He said putting his tray down. "Craig McConnel. What's your name?" He asked figuring he was one from their table. Craig had darkish brown hair and wore his sunglasses even now.

"Oh. Ren DuTour. Oh we're in the same group." He had discovered that everyone had returned to the table already. "Come on." He said picking up his tray after getting the soda finally. He was followed by Craig and led back to the table. "This is Amy, Miguel, Colette, and Mordred." He said very happy he had actually learned their names so quickly. Everyone but Mordred gave a slight wave and a hello. Mordred was concentrated on his food.

---

After dinner, it was time to do... whatever they felt like basically.

The girls had gone to their rooms, Colette because pasta made her sleepy... and Amy because she wanted to read her books. Miguel went back to the library to pick out the book he'd meant to before all the insanity had happened. Mordred just left on his own presumably to his room.

Ren and Craig however began to talk as they went back to their rooms. That night everyone just wanted to take everything in and go to sleep basically.

"So... Ren... what's your powers... besides flying?" Craig said looking to him.

"Me? Oh electrokinesis and I'm a technopath. That's what the Priestess said anyway."

"Electrokinesis... oh so you're... were you the one from Montreal?"

"...You... heard about that?" Ren immediately got very quiet. The whole incident with Montreal was the worst memory of his life.

"Yeah. We... lived nearby and some of our power got turned off but they said Montreal got hit the worst. That was really you? Your power level's amazing..." Craig said with a slight smirk.

"...But it's dangerous. And I'm not good at controlling it yet..."

"Well that's why we're here right? So... what exactly happened in Montreal?"

"...I blacked out so I don't really know." That was a lie. He just didn't want to talk about it.

Ren's worst experience was with Montreal. He had already known about his powers, so his family moved from America to Canada where they were less cruel about having powers and being a mutant. However, Ren's powers had begun advancing at a faster rate than most.

Ren was an electrokinetic and a technopath. While walking the streets of Montreal, to get home, Ren had been feeling a bit sick all day. Medicine did no good and the headache began to worsen. Finally, it became too much and Ren was left to clench his head and crouch down feeling an immense pain throughout his body. His body began to spark and a huge shockwave was emitted from him.

This was no ordinary shockwave. His powers advanced at the same time... meaning he could not control them both as they advanced. His electrokinesis attracted a lightning storm that began devastating skyscrapers in the area and random violent bolts of lightning were emitted from Ren himself. This of course caused widespread destruction and injuries. His technopathic powers sent another shockwave that disabled every appliance or anything running on electricity within a three mile radius after the city of Montreal. Though when Ren awoke, blacking out after the incident, he saw there were major fires and he knew he was the cause of it. The government was going to release that it was the cause of a mutant, Ren, after they salvaged a video from the satellites orbiting and taking pictures over Canada. However, the Priestess felt the massive power surge and went to Montreal. She convinced the Canadian government not to take those measures and release it as a widespread electrical surge caused by an explosion. Her reasoning was that releasing it was a mutant to the public would mean that all mutants would be regarded as dangerous.

After some lobbying, the Priestess was granted this favor, as long as she took the mutant who did it and trained him from doing it again. After that, she tracked down Ren's parents and offered to help Ren control his powers. Ren, however, was unaware because his parents said they had found it and wanted him to control them, not mentioning the Priestess's encouragement of his parents.

"Oh really? Sounds rough. But do you know why it happened?" Craig asked continuing to poke at it.

"Eh... well the Priestess thinks that because my powers were growing at an accelerated rate, the size of Montreal and how many electrical things might've agitated them and... it happened." He said quietly.

"Hmm... sounds interesting. I'm gonna go to sleep now. See ya, Ren." Craig said as he yawned and made it to his room, which turned out to be a few doors down from Ren's room. Apparently, the rooms were also organized to be close to the other members of the group.

Ren yawned some realizing it was now getting late. He spotted Mordred walking towards his room and Ren blinked. "Wait! Mordred!" Ren said landing and walking over to him quickly. "I... wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you, Amy would've gotten really hurt." He said smiling some.

"Don't look at me. You saved her." Mordred said before closing the door to his room after slipping himself inside, anti-socially.

"But..." He said before the door closed. "...I wouldn't have made it in time if you didn't get there first..." He said in a slight whisper. He wasn't sure what to do...

Ren shrugged quietly and decided that sleeping was probably a good idea. And with that, the first day had passed.

---

The next morning...

"Will Miguel Delgato, Ren DuTour, Colette Mason, Craig McConnel, Amy Johnson, and Mordred Rowley - please arrive in the training room. I repeat, Miguel Delgato, Ren DuTour, Colette Mason, Craig McConnel, Amy Johnson, and Mordred Rowley to the training room. The Priestess would like to start your first training mission. Please report by 7:30 a.m. Thank you, and good morning." The voice on the PA system said in a delightful robotic little monotone...

---

Chapter 2: New Arrivals and New Adjustments

Next Chapter: First Training Mission and the Face of Evil Emerges

---

2nd Chapter done. ...I like this chapter better. After the introduction of most of the teachers and students, thing'll pick up. I hope to introduce some of the villains the way I did with Marcelina.

Please keep reading. Reviews are always appreciated.

Okay then... here's the chapters I'm working with so far...

Chapter 1: Beginning of the New Year (COMPLETE!)

Chapter 2: New Arrivals and New Adjustments (COMPLETE!)

Chapter 3: First Training Mission and the Face of Evil Emerges (IN PROGRESS!)

Chapter 4: How Do You Catch a Falling Star? (SCRIPTED!)

Chapter 5: Reunion of the Constellation (SCRIPTED!)

Note:

COMPLETE! - A chapter already completed  
IN PROGRESS! - A chapter I am currently working on  
SCRIPTED! - A chapter that I have already planned out but I need to write  
BASIC IDEA! - A chapter I have the basic idea for but need to write it  
THINKING! - I'm thinking of ideas... Be patient

---

Okay. 2nd Chapter. ...Wow I said that already. Hmm... Well I hope you liked it. Chapter 3 will reveal my big bad main boss dude, Chapter 4 and 5 will do with Orion and Marcelina... and I'm not telling more than that but it's going to be very dramatic. Please don't miss it!


	3. Training Mission and the Face of Evil

((Tada! Chapter 3. Fear me. I'm hoping that this one will bring more action since... most of the introductions are over. Thank God...

I could feel those intros draining my brain...Well let's see how well I do on this chapter.

And now the drama commences!))

---

Chapter 3: First Training Mission and The Face of Evil

---

"Will Miguel Delgato, Ren DuTour, Colette Mason, Craig McConnel, Amy Johnson, and Mordred Rowley - please arrive in the training room. I repeat, Miguel Delgato, Ren DuTour, Colette Mason, Craig McConnel, Amy Johnson, and Mordred Rowley to the training room. The Priestess would like to start your first training mission. Please report by 7:30 a.m. Thank you, and good morning." The voice on the PA system said in a delightful robotic little monotone...

Everyone had heard the announcement echo through the halls. This of course spurred obvious wondering of who these students were and why they were having a training mission on the second day. Somehow it was a bit confusing. But eventually all the teams would have training missions, but the special team would have more intense ones because of the level of their powers. It seemed sort of elitist to do something that way, but it had to be done as they were the ones with the most potential to be a danger to themselves and others in the long run.

The six confused teenagers had little idea what they were exactly supposed to be doing.

_Good morning, children. In your rooms we have put your training suits. Please change into them and make your way to the left atrium of the Institute. Look for the double doors in the middle of the hallway. You can't miss it. Now hurry._ The Priestess's voice echoed in their heads again. Surely, it gave everyone the creeps that she was mentally connected to their minds. A bit disconcerting actually.

---

So after changing into the odd training suits which were black and seemed reinforced by a durable material, and for some, it was custom made, as in for Miguel, the six made their way to the left atrium. It took the six of them to actually figure out what she meant by the left atrium and what door they were supposed to open. After about twenty minutes of searching they found a pair of ominous doors awaiting them.

The doors were a deep brown color and looked much larger than any of the other doors. And in the wood, there were carvings and intricate designs that bejeweled the wood.

Tentatively, they opened the door which made a loud and sickening creaking sound as it opened. Once it opened, they could see that the heavy doors were reinforced by a silvery metal and bolted to the wood. Looking at it, the metal seemed several inches thick...

The training room itself was enormous. It was an oval shaped room and very very large and wide. It was all the same color silver as the door and once the doors were closed behind them, it was hard to tell the doors apart from the rest of the walls. Amy crossed her arms nervously as she glanced around at the same boring color. It was shaped in such a way that it was difficult to tell how big the place really was because it seemed to be a bubble.

Ren needed to squint across the way to see a large control box and in the back by the control box were the figures of the Priestess, Orion, Robin, and the two assistants Dreamscape and Golem, who were actually in the box.

The six of them after pausing to look over the place realized they were keeping the Priestess waiting and walked together, solemnly in... a very nervous herd of sorts.

It took a few minutes for them to make it across the room at their current pace and stopped in front of the Priestess who looked not at all pleased. Orion stood to her left but a bit behind, and Robin stood at the entrance of the control room, while Dreamscape and Golem looked on from the control room's windows, both with faces of snickering.

"You're late. I told you to be here by 7:30 a.m. It's now 7:49 a.m. ...In the future, do not be late." The Priestess was not in a joking mood and it seemed like a real turnaround from her earlier attitude of not caring. "Now. Once in a while, besides your usual training missions, there will be a few special ones to prepare you for real missions you may face later on. The regular training missions will teach you to control your powers better.. but the special ones will prepare you for scenarios that you may encounter from various mutants who side with evil."

Orion paused for a moment. He had wanted to ask her why she felt the need to start training missions of this kind so soon... and now he remembered. Orion turned away for a moment. It was because he mentioned Marcelina. Priestess was afraid that Marcelina and her recruiter might attack before they made any significant progress.

"So... what do we do?" Mordred asked the Priestess a bit boldly.

"Well. I was going to give you the beginner sequence... but maybe a more advanced level will show you what happens when you're late. Robin, Ethan (Dreamscape), Emma (Golem) run program... Sigma Alpha Iota version two at level six please." The Priestess said looking to the three technical minds before beginning to walk towards the control room. Robin immediately opened the door and began to type something as the twins also did their part.

Orion followed after the Priestess and once the Priestess and himself had closed the door to the training room, it seemed to melt away into obscurity.

Soon the very room began to change shapes... it was one big illusionary place. The six of them looked as the room seemed to warp itself.

The once flat room began to take shape. The silvery cieling changed into a scenic sunset, the smooth floors began to be altered, as high walls rose in seemingly random locations. And from the walls, turrets emerged and began charging up to fire upon them.

"Your goal is to make it to the end of the Labyrinth in one piece. There are many pathways and you can either go as a group or by yourself. If you are defeated... well don't be defeated and you won't need to find out... Begin!" The Priestess spoke through a loud-speaker much like the PA system... and finally the scene was set... and a huge maze awaited their venturing.

"...So now what do we do?" Amy said quietly and a bit afraid.

"It's not a good idea to split up. If we get separated then we'll be defeated easier." Colette said nodding to herself.

"Right... let me go see which way we need to go." Ren said before beginning to float upwards. Soon he had made it nearly to the cieling and began to survey the maze. All at once the laser turrets locked onto Ren's position and opened fire. Ren blinked and dodged a few of them but was hit in the shoulder by one before he was forced to descend again. Once he had landed, they could see that the shot had very much hurt but the suit was reinforced enough to keep anything from being hurt.

"When flyers ascend in the middle of a battlefield, they become a target. Suppose the military was involved, identifying yourself as a mutant means the same as wearing a bullseye. Minus two." The Priestess' cynical voice rang out as the turrets stopped firing.

"...I think she's insane..." Colette said as Amy began to bring her hand up to her face.

"We'd better hurry and start... Either way, this isn't a game..." Miguel said as they started to move.

The group of six hurried through the maze, reaching dead end after dead end. It was obvious that they were lost again...

"Oh this is nuts. I'll just make a path for us." Mordred said taking off his glove. He pressed it against one of the walls and it began to dissolve. The six moved through hole after hole until a large robotic hand swiped from the hole and knocked Miguel into Colette. The creature was a large robot seeming to be several feet tall and had a lot of brute strength especially in its arms.

"Though some obstacles require getting through them if you can't find your way around them, it's best to do this only when you need to or you create a trail and sometimes what lies beyond a wall is worse than you might imagine. Minus three."

"Ow, ow, ow..." Colette said getting up from underneath of Miguel. The robot inched closer and rose its fist in a pounding motion. Craig on instinct create a barrier around himself and when the robot swung the mighty hammer-fist down, it impacted on the barrier. The robot's hand began to crack and various gears popped out until the arm basically broke. It turned its other hand towards Ren who as able to jump on the hand and then onto its back, resulting in a bucking bronco sort of thing.

"I can't... hold on... much longer... getting dizzy..." Ren said being swung back and forth before an electrical charge was sent through the robot. Its hand reached back and grabbed Ren before tossing him at a wall. Amy gasped and stopped Ren, mid throw and lowered him down. Miguel, in a quick action was able to use his tail to snatch the robot's leg out from under him, causing the monstrosity to make a creaking sound before crashing to the ground. It quickly went to rise again before Miguel slashed the robot's head off with his claws. A brief sigh of relief was in order for everyone involved. Somehow... this just wasn't fun anymore.

"Giving up already? Minus one."

"It's called taking a breath! Geez... insane old woman..." Mordred said to the cieling in an annoyed sort of way.

"Let's go. And no more shortcuts... for all our sakes..." Ren said trying to catch his breath.

"This way. I found a larger area. I think we're going the right way." Colette said as she made her way off to the right. There was a large area of vacant space and they all gave a slight sigh of relief before they started walking. Without much warning, one of the pannels of the walls opened and a large machine-gun type turret began firing a barrage of lasers at them.

"Ah!" Colette gasped before extending her hands and freezing the laser shots and the gattling gun in mid-fire. "Hurry!" Colette said as they all moved out of the way of the turret.

Time soon unfroze and the turret turned slowly and began to charge again.

"Beware flat areas. There's no cover and it's easy to be ambushed. Minus two." Another deduction... how many points had they lost so far? ...And how many points did they have left.

"I can't freeze it now or it'll follow us and then shoot when I unfreeze it..." Colette said a bit nervously. So far there was no door in sight.

"I'll try..." Amy said before placing her hands to her head. Soon the turret began to shake and the nozzel used to fire slowly began to bend back and curled. And as the gun was ready to shoot, the blast backfired and the turret exploded. Suddenly the turret was fired at them instead of ordinary bullets as it had been propelled by the blast.

After a brief group gasp and cover, the turret collided with something and bounced back bumping on the ground before finally settling on its side, still smoking. It had been Craig who raised a shield and reflected the metal projectile back.

"...She's trying to kill us." Amy said a bit exhausted mentally. Somehow.. this whole thing was just no fun anymore.

"We... must be near the exit now... the doors are... over there..." Miguel said trying to recover from the brief panic attack.

"But... how do we get through? It's a dead end...?" Ren asked before a part of the wall folded back. Soon there was a doorway in sight and everyone moved toward it.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait..." Miguel said catching their attention. "So far, we've been shot at in the air, attacked by a robot, and now a gigantic turret just tried to fry us and then crush us... Colette could you please freeze whatever is in this maze right beyond that door. I don't trust this place anymore..." Miguel said quietly.

"...Umm... I guess it's... worth a try." Colette tucked a strand of her golden blonde hair behind her ear before extending her hands again. In a breif moment everything had stopped in the little arena of torture. The smoke from the turret that had exploded had stopped wafting and Colette nodded as they all walked forward towards the door.

After they reached the door, they saw something quite... evil... an army of those robotic giants. Not one, not two, not even ten... there must've been twenty.

"Good. You're looking for things that seem out of the ordinary. Plus five." They walked in between the metal mass.

"Should we destroy them now?" Amy said before Mordred pulled off his glove.

"...Our attacks won't take effect on them until Colette's time freeze wears off... and if it took all those hits before... it's best that we not see how many hits it'll take against twenty..." Ren said not wanting to fight. He just wanted to get out of the maze... and take a deep breath. Already the adrenaline was pumping a bit too much and his knees felt a bit shaky.

Amy nodded and motioned for Mordred to come along. Soon they were in another compartment of the maze and right ahead was the exit. Colette's focus broke and she let time resume taking a deep and tired sort of breath. "Oh let's get out of here..." She said making a trudge for the exit.

But as they were about to exit, the walls began to warp again. But this time they rose up around the six themselves.

---

The walls around Ren closed in and the floor moved up for him and he had to take to flying again. Soon the cieling above the maze closed in making Ren the only one to stand out as a bunch of turrets began to lock on to him. With nowhere to go but fly around, and no cover to take in the actual maze now that it was sealed up, Ren was all alone.

The laser turrets began to follow his movements and opened fire...

---

Mordred's walls closed in around him to make a box. And... slowly... they began to squeeze in around him. He took off his glove and began to disintegrate one of the walls. As he made it out of that one, there were more walls intent on closing in and squishing him completely.

For some reason, the more walls he melted through, the more began to appear only thicker...

---

Miguel and Craig were trapped with an army of giant robots like the ones from before. Apparently the army that they refused to vanquish followed after them. Miguel was soon separated from Craig in a sea of robots.

Miguel had to do battle with them, and Craig could only defend against them...

---

Amy and Colette had grabbed each other's hands so they wouldn't be separated, but had to part as a huge batallion of the same large clunky turrets shot at them. Amy was trapped on one side, and Colette on the other.

Meanwhile the turrents continued to strafe after them...

---

Ren was quickly getting irritated by the flying shots at him. It took constant movement not to get hit.

"Enough!" He said stopping before emitting a large blast of electrictity in all directions as lightning bolts. The turrets sparked and sputtered but electricity did little to stop them. They sparked and smoke came off of them... and for a moment it seemed like the tiny laser turrets had turned themselves off.

But as soon as that happened and Ren began to take quick shallowed breaths, one by one the turrets began to become active again. Ren blinked and rose before being cornered by the actual cieling of the room... He ducked and weaved and threw balls of electric energy at the turrets but each time he did, they seemed to amplify their power. He stood now at the bottom and standing on the floor... which was actually the cieling for the maze but he could no longer get inside. Finally, before he could emit more bolts of lighting, he was struck in the back by a laser blast that shot him forward.

He was then barraged by a volley of laser shots, and though he was protected they still began to sting worse and worse until Ren could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness...

---

Mordred was beginning to see which walls were thicker than others and instead ran his hand along the walls as he ran and as they dissolved, more walls came to meet him.

Soon he was like a rabbit running here and there and everywhere. He began to feel tired and out of breath, though he urged himself on.

This way, and that way, and he didn't know where he was but he couldn't keep doing this for long. And soon, his legs began to tremble and he clumsily fell over his own feet. And now, with his gloved hand, he began to push his way back true fear in his eyes with his one gloved hand... and because he'd now backed himself in a corner and the walls threatened to crush him.

All he could do was put his arm in front of him to distance himself from the walls...

---

Miguel and Craig fought valiantly against the army of robots.

Miguel sliced through heads and crushed legs with his tail but soon he was getting mobbed by them.

Craig could only keep his shield up for every hit and watch as the damage recoiled. But even then it wasn't enough. Because with each hit he was trying to conserve energy. His energy was starting to rapidly deplete.

As Miguel began to make a charge against the robots he felt something pull him from the ground. One of the robots had grabbed his tail and began to pull him back. Miguel dug his claws into the floor but could get no real traction so he was hoisted into the air. And in a brief instant, he was tossed at Craig. Craig who had been rapidly losing power blinked seeing Miguel fly straight for him. At the time, Craig could not lower the shield because of the attack by his own robot foes. So... Miguel smacked right into Craig's shield and deflected off, launching him into the air and then down onto the ground. Craig immediately dropped the shield to see if Miguel was hurt. But... a robot hand reached up grabbed him around the waist and began to squeeze. In the quick motion, Craig's glasses had fallen off causing him to shut his eyes.

Craig could not draw a breath or put up a new shield like that and slowly felt the world begin to turn fuzzy as Miguel layed motionless with a crowd of robots around him...

---

Colette was freezing the laser barrages to get out of the way of them and they would miss and then they would fire again. This was something she could not keep up with and was steadily growing weaker.

Amy had resumed her earlier strategy of disabling the turrets but as she did in much the same way, they exploded and created random rockets that usually went in her direction. Amy shrieked each time and made random dives to avoid flying heaps of burning metal.

Colette was beginning to tire and saw Amy on the ground, who had accidentally knocked the wind out of herself as she landed. Colette was now being aimed at by two turrets. Her eyes grew wide as she braced for it. Amy saw one of the turrets vaguely as things were beginning to go blurry. Her legs would not respond to her and out of instinct, she disabled one more turret by bending the blasting device backwards causing an explosion and another soaring rocket.

Colette however had one more turret to deal with and as the laser barrage was sent at her by the laser arbalests, she rose her hands to freeze them but felt her energy all but tapped out.

She crossed her arms over her face and waited for the shots to blast her...

Amy however was unable to move, as the massive debris of the turret flew right at her...

---

And then... all was normal again. Ren and Craig dropped to the ground. Miguel was lying on the ground a bit out of it. Mordred was seen cowering at nothing. Colette held her hands in front of her face expecting to be shot at, and Amy had closed her eyes to prepare for the impact. But nothing happened...

The illusion quickly faded and returned to the same normal room. The walls of the labyrinth disappeared and the turrets all vanished into the walls again. Almost at once, the door of the control room opened after the program was terminated. Robin was first (naturally) to zoom out and check on Miguel who had just woken up and was still very groggy.

Orion quickly made his way over to Ren who was a bit wobbily when he stood but Orion helped to steady him. "You shouldn't try to move so soon. Those were some powerful shots..."

Dreamscape rushed over to Amy to help her up and she looked at him, slowly beginning to understand what had happened. Amy stood up slowly as her legs finally responded but they nearly gave out on her and Dreamscape caught her. "Careful, Amy. You're alright..." He said urging her to sit down until she regained her full consciousness of what was happened.

Golem made her way over to Craig who had dropped and began a wild coughing fit taking deep audible breaths finally getting the oxygen he needed. Golem began to pat his back and rub it in a comforting way. "There, there... just try to breathe normally. Priestess, ma'am... that was... a bit too much for their first time..."

Once Robin had seen to Miguel who was the least worse for wear because he'd been out of it all that time, she zoomed over to Colette who was frozen in place in her defensive position. She slowly lowered her arms and Robin smiled. "Wow. I'm impressed. You guys did better than anyone has on their first time. You almost made it to the exit on level 6!" She said a bit too happily.

Colette turned to her a bit in shock. "This... this... was... just a test?"

Orion and Robin looked back to the Priestess a bit unsure of what to do. It was meant to be a test but like always, the Priestess may had gone too far. She, however, was checking on Mordred who seemed mildly angry about the whole thing.

"**_What... the hell is wrong with you_**?!" Mordred said angrily standing up at once and reached for the Priestess with his ungloved hand. Orion and Robin both rushed forward to stop him but he was frozen in place by the Priestess' telekinesis. The hand that had been raised against her was reluctantly lowered, much to the anger of Mordred and he was pushed backwards onto his back.

"We had no intention of killing you. Relax. And watch your language with me, young man." The Priestess said sternly.

Amy quietly stood and smiled weakly to Dreamscape who had helped her by acting as a crutch until she could walk by herself. "Come on Mordred... relax." Amy said extending her hand to help him up. Mordred angrily rejected her hand and stood up by himself, causing Amy to frown a bit and resume her place by Colette to make sure she was alright.

Ren took a few deep breaths and went to see if Craig was alright, seeing as he seemed to had suffered the worst from his coughing fit. He spotted Craig and walked over to him. Craig was on his hands and knees, no longer coughing wildly, though there was an ocassional cough, but mainly he was running his hands over the cold floor with his eyes clenched shut. "Where... where are they...?" He was muttering to himself hopelessly.

Ren blinked and spotted Craig's glasses a little ways over. Ren walked over to them and retrieved them before putting them in front of Craig. "Here. Are these your glasses?" After some blind fumbling with Craig's hand to find Ren's, he did and took his glasses and put them on before returning to his feet, as did Ren.

"Thanks..." He said weakly to Ren before coughing again. "What... was the point of nearly killing us?" He asked in the Priestess' direction.

"Well. Sometimes you will be assigned to specific missions to preserve the peace... and this peace will be interrupted ocassionally by some mutants or humans who want to take the world for themselves. So this... was necessary. Though I had hoped you'd make it to the end once it was within your grasp. I guess we'll need to lower the level down to three or four instead of six... You're not quite ready for that..." She said a bit coldly.

Orion went to follow her. "Priestess... they did their best. Shouldn't you congratulate them for that at least?" He said in a whisper though it carried somewhat... at least to the ears of Robin, Golem, and Dreamscape.

"Even if it was their best, there is no reason to reward them for failure. A failure is a failure... no matter how much effort is put into it." She said quietly to him which made Orion frown as did Robin. "Robin... I want you to power down the training computer for now. Dreamscape, Golem, once you are down helping the children recover, I want you to process the statistics of their training simulation." The Priestess said quietly.

"As for you all, go get some rest. I'll need to see you again later but I'll give you word on that... when it comes." She said quietly beckoning Orion to follow, which he did. This of course left the children there to recover and grumble and take deep breaths of relief...

---

"You're too hard on them, Kiera. Level six... for their first time? What were you thinking...?" Orion asked in the Priestess' direction. The two had now made it into the courtyard.

The courtyard was rather lovely in the mornings. Beautiful old trees were stationed around a large fenced area with a lovely three-layered fountain in the middle. The figure of a woman was the statue on the fountain... she looked a bit like the basic idea of Aquarius in how the woman was holding a water jug over her shoulder and the water poured from her stone jar and emptied into the fountain. The flowers and hedges were stationed in a random order, and it was somehow hard to imagine that perhaps there was a defensive system built into the courtyard just in case. The gardens were managed by Demeter of course and she had all the plants looking perky nearly every day of the year.

"I was thinking that maybe they should be pushed a little harder because their abilities are more remarkable than average. If it were level five they would've completed the maze. But on level six, they almost made it. We have to keep pushing them... or they'll never improve. You realize that _this_ won't be able to stop _him_ without the strength of those children..." The Priestess said sitting on the edge of the fountain. In her hand she held a small formula that was currently under development... it was a temporary nullification formula that was still under testing but was able to temporarily depower a mutant.

"Of course we need to push them but... one you literally backed into a corner, one nearly plummets, one nearly gets crushed, one nearly gets mauled by an army of robots, and two nearly get mentally scarred. But it's not that part that bothers me... it's the part where you seem to disregard their safety and when they call you on it, you just say things like 'it must be done.' Kiera if you push them that hard they're going to break down." Orion said a teeny bit annoyed that the Priestess acted as if she could endanger her own students like that.

"Do you have a problem with a way I conduct things, Raphael?" She asked looking at him with a sharp look.

"Only when you end up hurting them, not helping them. And you won't even admit that part of the reason you put it on level six was because they were late..." He said crossing his arms.

"My reasons and methods are none of your business... Stick to doing your job and leave matters like this to me." She said coldly.

"None of my business?! My job is their safety. And if you keep putting them in positions to be killed..." He said tightening his hand into a fist. "Forget it, you're just too short-sighted to see how much damage you really caused today." Orion said before turning his back on her and walking away.

Demeter and Horatio had been... pretty much eavesdropping the whole time and the two of them would make faces when the Priestess or Orion would say things to each other, which must've stung them deeply. ...Those faces were the typical faces of an eavesdropper... the faces where they could see the train wreck coming but couldn't stop it.. and somehow the two of them had a knack for saying the wrong things to each other.

"You can come out now Viola... Horatio... I am psychic, you know..." The Priestess said standing up and brushing off her black dress.

"Oh... so you knew." Viola began stepping forward and adjusted her braid. "...I hate to say it but... from what I heard from Robin and the others... I think you may have gone a bit too far. I know they're powerful but... they are just children. And it was their first time. What made you think they could handle that? ...That and you said some things to Orion that were a bit.. uncalled for... You know Orion's one of your biggest supporters right?" Demeter asked approaching quietly.

"...Are you also questioning my logic? ...And what about you Horatio? Anything else I'm doing wrong?" The Priestess said a bit condescendingly. To the Priestess, it felt like she was the only one at fault and she could not get any support.

"Look, Kiera... It's great you feel the need to push them but when someone nearly dies in a training mission.. that's not something that you can say was necessary. Why don't you just apologize to Orion... It's just going to be awkward if you don't." Horatio said shaking his head and beginning to walk away. "Hey, Vi, I'm gonna see how August and Phoebe are adjusting. I'll see you a bit later." He said giving a slight wave.

"So you two really think I'm wrong?" Kiera asked now in a less... snippy tone. In her defense, the Priestess honestly believed that pressing people to do their best was the right thing to do. Truthfully, she believed that getting in that type of a situation would teach the kids not to get in it again. Demeter seemed to be waiting for the Priestess to go off and apologize to Orion. "...Fine. I'll go find him..." She said getting a bit irritated to be getting looked at so intently.

---

"...No. They haven't suspected anything."

_Good. The mental shield worked... Are the explosives set up? ...We need to get this plan underway. Understood?_

"Everything's in place. I just need them to get into the right position. Just have Marcelina ready. ...And you're the one making the appearance?"

_She's already waiting. She'll be ready when the time comes. ...And yes. I think it's time for a reunion with my old friend Kiera. Just don't blow your cover..._

"I won't. I'll set off the explosives... very soon. Get ready for your debut, Sir."

---

The Priestess was able to follow Orion by his thoughts and soon found him walking through the vacant building of the garage. The Priestess found that a bit odd because Orion was not normally interested in cars...

The garage was a large building located on the property that were managed by Gadget... another mutant with control over metals and also a powerful technopath with a whole bunch of degrees in physics and mechanics and other things of that nature. Though Gadget was usually very secretive and mostly involved in helping Robin with the machines in actually building them, for the most part he kept to himself. The garage housed a large variety of custom made cars made with a lot of effort and mostly out of scrap metal that Gadget collected. The garage housed cars and ships that were made to get to different places when and if they had a mission. Recently though, Gadget had been secretly working in his laboratory (underneath the school) making a kind of airship for them to use if they needed it.

Orion leaned quietly against a car's bumper staring off into space... looking as if he were waiting for someone.

The Priestess quietly walked up to him and took a deep breath.

Orion blinked for a moment. "Why are you so late? Your message said you would've been here ten minutes ago..." He said not really looking at her.

"...Ten minutes ago? I sent no message to you. The only reason I found you is because I followed your thoughts..."

Before Orion could ask what she was talking about - because he apparently wasn't understanding someone had faked the Priestess's telepathic message to get Orion into the garage - a sudden tremor struck the ground that rattled the cars. Soon the rumbling stopped... but then another one... and another and then finally the explosions seemed to be getting closer until Orion and the Priestess noticed there were bombs attached to the main columns of the garage that supported the roof.

"Get down!" Orion said pushing the Priestess onto the ground before taking cover himself as the explosions went off. The main support beams made a horrible creaking sound but the garage had yet to fall in upon itself. The main support had been sturdier than the bomb-setter had suspected apparently and the roof, though shaky, was still standing. On the way down, Orion had scraped his cheek on the asphalt and the Priestess was just a little sore from being pushed to the ground.

Soon the alarm system began to go off. ...In these cases the teachers available were to make sure to round up the kids (with the exception of the special group, who were to be informed on where the disturbance was and to get there because it was their responsibility..)

_Staff, this is Ms. Delaurie. There has been a series of explosions in the garage and near that general area. Orion and myself are already at the scene. Your primary duty is to secure and guard the children._

_Special group, please report to the garage. It is an absolute emergency, and vital you get here as soon as possible..._

The Priestess was able to send out two mental messages before she stood up seeing the main support looking like it might collapse at any second. "Orion we should evacuate..."

Orion nodded but before they could, a figure emerged from the shadows of the garage laughing a bit at the predicament. Orion nearly froze at the sight of the intruder while the Priestess narrowed her eyes.

"Why Kiera, Raphael... there you are. We weren't expecting that you would also be here Kiera... I'm sure it's just a coincidence... you never could see the big picture." The man said taking his arms and placing them straight in front of him before moving them apart. As he did this, the cars in the garage all moved towards the side in a messy fashion resulting in collisions. That was mainly to make a space for the ensuing battle. "So Raphael, how've you been? It's been so long since I've seen you... back then you were still learning English... and Kiera... well... we've faced each other before this but... not under these circumstances. And here I thought I'd just get to talk to Raphael. ..A man to man talk... but there will be time for that later... once you come with us, Orion." The man said with a slight smile that was dark and cold.

"I'm not going with you, Nature. I stopped following you when you broke away from the group..." Orion said narrowing his eyes.

"What are you planning Elias? And why is Raphael so important to you now...?" The Priestess asked preparing for a mental attack.

"Aww, Orion... are you still holding that grudge? We never were a close-knit group anyway." He said shaking his head as he approached. "Why is Orion important...? Well that would be telling... and I hate spoiling the surprise..." Nature said with an air of mystery.

Nature, or Elias Rockwell, was the main person of evil and opposition to the Priestess. Elias was born centuries ago and lived by stealing the powers of mutants and others that he wanted. All he had to do was kill them first. Nature had changed his name many times and his main power was taking others' powers after killing them. Of course, Nature began hunting down mutants that met certain criteria, and before long was able to absorb the powers of multiple mutants, in particular the ones with control over various elements of nature. He had even tried to steal Demeter's powers but was stopped by the Priestess and Horatio before he could kill her.

But long before Nature was identified as a villain, he was apart of the same group that the Priestess and Orion and many of the other teachers were when they had to save Earth from the alien invaders. Nature and the Priestess constantly conflicted because Nature wanted to be their leader and was for a while, until his brutality and cruelty showed through and the Priestess urged the others to stop him. Through their combined efforts, they forced him out and Nature had always resented her. ...In particular, Nature had wanted to steal the powers of the ones who had helped the Priestess before actually taking her out. ...Though, this time, his plans for Orion seemed somewhat different.

The Priestess launched a psionic blast that Nature quickly was able to absorb. Because Nature had absorbed a vast variety of powers, others with powers similar to his own, were not really able to hurt him. When a mutant with a power that Nature had already absorbed before in his lifetime attacked with their powers... Nature was able to take the hit and convert it into his own energy. Though, the Priestess had certain abilities, like telekinesis, he had yet to acquire.

"Enough of this foolishness Kiera... leave the boys to talk to each other won't you?" He said looking to Orion before Orion began to float under the influence of the wind by Nature. "Conscious or not... I'm taking Orion with me..." He said sending Orion flying into one of the cars by his back. Orion was very stoic though and although he was in pain, he hid it well, despite the fact he was starting to bleed. "Come on Orion... won't you scream for me?" Nature said with a mock pout before sending Orion tumbling onto the ground.

Before Nature could unleash another attack, a large vine shot up and grabbed his hand, twisting it and then shooting him back a ways.

"Why, hello, Demeter. It's nice to see you too." Nature said standing up and brushing himself off. With Demeter, there were many of the teachers, as well as Ren, Mordred, Amy, Colette, Craig, and Miguel. "Oh look at the new special group... I wonder how powerful they are..."

Orion was currently off to the side being helped up by Magi and Robin while at Demeter's side was Horatio.

---

Nature began to float and laugh a bit. "Fight as much as you want... Orion will come with me... one way, or the other..." He said snickering a bit.

The Priestess looked back to Demeter. "Where's Crest?" Demeter gave a slight shrug at Crest's absence. In truth, Crest was back protecting the children just in case.

Robin was the first to begin a charge and was able to zoom along jumping on the mass of cars and because of her high speed, she even was able to run along the walls. She made a leap for the floating Nature but he simply laughed before ascending out of her reach. Nature then concentrated for a moment and shot a blast of ice onto the ground, that Robin, inevitably landed on causing her to lose all friction and do a mad slide that ended up making her tumble at a high speed until she stopped after colliding with Magi, who was actually trying to avoid something like that happening.

"Two down... who's next?" Nature asked before another group of vines ensnared him, thanks to Demeter. "Ah, Viola..." Nature said before engulfing his body in flames, causing the vines to wither and turn to ash, before returning to normal. He at once seized Demeter by the throat and pick her up.

"Viola!" Horatio concentrated on the jingling of the bells on his clothes before a massive looking wave of sound energy came for Nature. The blast was enough to tear up the stone flooring of the garage as it went. Nature soon took notice of the blast of energy and evaded it, but not before putting Viola in the way of it. Somehow, Nature took a perverse pleasure in watching the others accidentally hurt their own teammates. Demeter was sent flying backwards and through the wall of the garage and into the courtyard by the sound blast. Horatio stood there frozen by horror that he had hurt his wife accidentally, and out of instinct, went to go see if she was alright.

Horatio was stopped by Nature who made a tsk tsk motion with his finger. Horatio growled and made blind rage-filled swipes at Nature who was able to avoid them with ease. Soon Horatio made a few more blind punches before sending another blast of sound at him. Nature leapt over it, sending a quick punch to Horatio's gut before seizing him by the throat as well. "If you love her so much, then go join her..." Nature said before balling his hand into a fist and engulfing it in flames. With one quick punch he sent Horatio out into the courtyard as well.

---

Miguel was next to launch an assault on Nature by swooping at him and actually making a deep looking slash across Nature's back with his claws ripping a few claw-shaped tears in Nature's shirt and jacekt. Nature made an audible groan but turned around looking normal. "So you're the first to actually land a hit. Kudos... and you must be Quetzal... so nice to meet you but..." Nature placed his hands close to Miguel's face before sending a blinding flast of light from them making Miguel stumble back blindly.

"Don't worry. It's temporary... as is your slight 'victory'.." He said before sending Miguel flying backwards.

Nature then rose into the air again and suddenly everything turned dark. "Let's see how well you can see in the dark..." All there really was to illuminate the area was the gaping hole in the garage caused by Horatio's... accident that sent Viola through it.

Amy was able to sense the feelings of spite and the sadistic cruelty through the air because of her empathic powers. Without a lot of warning or hesitation, she picked up one of the cars with her mind and sent it in the direction of the negative feelings. A loud clunk was heard and the light suddenly returned. The car had apparently hits it mark but missed any major damage.

Nature was... actually fuming and glared harshly in Amy's direction. "So you want to throw things huh? How about this then?" Nature made some of the various cars begin to rise and sent them flying through the air at Amy. Amy seemed to pale rather quickly and deflected one or two with her mind but the rest she couldn't reach in time. It was then that Craig had jumped in front of her and put up the shield and the cars collided with it seeming to take quite a toll on Craig, before they bounced off.

As the cars fell harmlessly to the side, Craig let the shield drop and began to breathe heavily. Apparently the heavier the object, the harder it was to reflect them. Craig fell to one knee and Amy blinked rushing to his side.

Nature scoffed looking back to the Priestess. "This is the best you can do with these students? ...Truly pathetic." Nature was subsequently struck with a powerful bolt of lightning by Ren but Nature actually erupted in laughter as the lightning seemed to not do very much... if anything at all. But in actuality, the slash on his back started to close up until it finally healed completely. "Thanks, kid... Now let me show you what a lightning strick is supposed to be like..." He said before shooting a massive bolt of lightning for Ren.

Ren put his hands in front of him and the bolt of lightning looked like it was struggling to get free. This was because, while Nature could only generate electricty, Ren was electrokinetic and so as well as generating it, he could control its path with his mind. Ren began to slowly lose ground with the lightning strike and in the end, just ended up redirecting the lightning bolt upwards, which blasted a hole through the shaky cieling, causing more rumbling and a few random pieces of rock to fall that came from the cieling.

Colette, who hadn't been able to do much because she knew her freezing powers would do no good against someone of Nature's level, sat back with Orion and Mordred trying to make sure that Orion was alright. She glanced up at the falling rocks and saw that Ren was right under one that was about to fall. "Freeze..." She said quietly freezing the collapsing rocks but the stone that had made up the once flawless cieling were very heavy... Ren immediately looked up and darted out of the way making his way towards Craig and Amy.

Mordred took this opportunity to make a quiet stealthy dash towards Nature who had landed finally. Mordred at once took his gloves off and made a grab for Nature's face. He turned around a bit too late as Mordred's caustic skin touched Nature's cheek causing a slight hissing sound but it missed anything vital. Nature at once grabbed Mordred's covered arm instead and flung him against the main support beam. The whole structure seemed to wobble on the impact and the Priestess stood by hoping it wouldn't collapse.

Nature's old smirk appeared before he sent a tremor through the ground. It smacked right into the main support beam and finally the once sturdy beam snapped making the cieling slowly begin to crack.. The long crack in the cieling began to branch out into other cracks and as they did, dust and small pieces of rock began to fall... The whole structure creaked for a moment before the network of cracks began to finalize... and one by one, little pieces of the cieling began to crumble.

Orion's eyes widened as the building seemed to be collapsing. He stood up, making his way towards the middle of the room and placed both hands skyward, palms flat. Orion's eyes began to glow a royal purple before the cieling stopped rumbling. The pieces of rock, though destined to fall, were being supported as Orion altered their gravity fields enough to make them float. Orion showed that he was under obvious strain though. "Kiera. Get them out of here... before the place collapses."

The Priestess nodded and Nature was seen laughing a bit at the effort. The Priestess looked in her pocket to find the small container of nullifying liquid that she had earlier. She threw the small container at Nature and it impacted, breaking on his back and leaking out on him.

"What was that supposed to be Kiera? ...Oh well... Guess I'll just have to..." He trailed off with his hand extended. The lightning blast he had planned for her fizzled out and his eyes widened a bit. The Priestess showed a triumphant smirk before launching a psychic assault. The blasts sent Nature backwards and forwards before... Nature slipped his hands into his pockets. He pulled out a pair of pistols... For some reason he seemed very prepared...

Blindly, Nature fired the gun in any sort of direction. Though a bullet grazed her cheek, the Priestess was fine. The only shot that did any real damage was quickly noticed. Orion had been struck in his left arm causing the gravity fields over the floating stones to become a bit unstable. Orion dropped his left arm wanting desperately to clutch his arm, like the situation would call for, but he kept his arm extended to keep up the stones, though they had dropped a bit and a few of the bigger ones began to crash into the ground. Orion's powers faltered when he lost concentration and in the case of being in pain, it was making him lose his concentration...

Nature, however, seemed to disappear as suddenly as he appeared and no one had seen his departure...

"Everyone. Outside now..." The Priestess said as everyone began to exit. Those who were unconscious were picked up and brought outside by the hole. Orion sat there holding up the cieling before Kiera made her way over to him.

"We have to go, Orion..." She said pleading with him.

"Go, Kiera. If I move, the cieling will collapse in an instant." He said now on one knee trying to keep the cieling up. Somehow, he felt a bit like Atlas rather than Orion...

"...Raphael I can't leave you here to die..." She said a bit shocked he would even suggest it.

"I'm not going to die... Just hurry and get me out of the rubble. You're so melodramatic..." He said shaking his head.

"Bu--" The Priestess had attempted to plead further but Orion rose his pained left arm and shot her back with a blast of energy out of the collapsing building and into the courtyard. And with that Orion let down the gravity field, though he intended to move the falling rocks from collapsing on himself...

---

Seemingly all at once, the garage seemed to implode and the sound of crunching metal and falling rock seemed to echo.

Viola and Horatio slowly regained consciousness, Horatio with various scorch marks, and Viola with a gash on her arm and blood running down the side of her head.

Miguel also woke up a bit dazed...

Magi woke up with a headache and Robin with a scrape up her thigh from tumbling on the asphalt.

Priestess looked to Amy and anyone else who could quickly sift through rocks to find Orion. The Priestess trusted that Orion was not dead, but if left under the rubble too long... then he would be dead. Soon psychically lifted rocks began flying into a pile. Viola assisted by using vines to drag the rocks away and Mordred by dissolving through some of the stone.

The Priestess, getting rather angry at the laborious task urged everyone to get back and summoning her most powerful psychic blast she rose every piece of rubble in the air... but the Priestess soon dropped them. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and she dropped to her knees in a state of confusion and fear...

For, when she lifted all the pieces of rubble and left only the foundation there... Orion was not present. Orion had not been under the rubble... not even his corpse if he had died... no trace of him... anywhere...

---

"That didn't go as planned did it Nature, darling?" A young woman asked with a slight bit snickering. She was rather amused that he had not only been slashed for one, but also that the Priestess had temporarily disabled his powers and then unleashed her assault.

Nature, who was now bleeding a bit and his shirt torn in the back along with his jacket, snarled a bit. "Silence, Lucretia. I had only planned on it being Orion there. ...Imitating her psychic transmissions was a piece of cake... but I hadn't expected that she would come to talk to him... and then that her busybody students and the idiot teachers would come too..."

"Obviously not, dearest..." Lucretia, or Malice, said with a small laugh. "But did we succeed in the long run?" Lucretia Cygnette was a dainty and pale creature who dressed in an almost provocative way, with a clingy deep black and green dress that had various straps in the back. The outfit was cropped so that it had no straps and just hung off of her, covering her from the collarbone down. The sleeves of the dress were too big for her but were slit up the side and had another slit up the bottom of the dress. She was quite beautiful and had silvery purple hair as a result of her mutation, as well as wearing dark makeup.

"Yes. The one called Orion was apprehended. ...Thanks to the one on the inside." A young Russian accent responded before stepping out from the shadows. The boy looked rather young and had jet black hair, fair skin, but the most catching feature about him was his neon bluish eyes that seemed to contain some sort of energy that moved in them. Nicolai Anatoli, or Specter, wore long black pants and a white button-down shirt that originally belonged to Nature but was given to him. The sleeves were a bit baggy on him because Nicolai did not have the same physique. He wore a light blue sweater tied around his waist by the sleeves because it was colder earlier on.

"Hello Nicolai. Why didn't you go with Nature? He could've used your help. You should really put more trust in Mr. Anatoli, Elias, dear.." Lucretia said with a small laugh.

"...Mr. Rockwell asked me not to come. He said that he would be alright on his own and that I should wait for Diadem to come with Mr. Castilla..." Nicolai said explaining himself in a quiet voice.

Nature shook his head at Lucretia. "I asked Specter not to come because I can mask my presence, and he cannot. Stop pointing fingers... Ah! Adrian. Is Marcelina nearly ready to begin the second part of the plan?" Nature asked turning to Diadem who came back wiping off blood from his shoulder.

Lucretia blinked and looked him over for a moment. "Adrian what happened?" She asked for a moment.

Adrian, or Diadem, blinked for a moment not quite getting what she meant. "Oh... it's nothing... when the portal opened up, I took Orion to the tower like Marcelina said. ...His arm was bleeding so when I carried him there, I guess he bled on me."

"Sorry Mr. Shard, the Priestess surprised me with a nullifying formula... she's gotten craftier over the years..." He said to Adrian. Adrian Shard, or Diadem, was a tall and intimidating figure. He nearly matched the height of Crest but was more lanky than anything else. His eyes were an emerald green and his hair was brownish but seemed to have a blue tint to it, from his mutation. He wore khaki pants with a black belt. His shirt was a bit odd... the color of it was an off-white with a pale red design on the back of it. The sleeves were long and stretched over his hands. On his right arm, he wore a metallic looking brace on his upper arm.

"Would you like me to see if Marcelina is nearly done?" Adrian asked in a polite and soft tone.

"...No. We'll wait here. I've given Marcelina specific orders to come back here when she's finished." Nature said with a cold tone.

((Nature is the only one of my villains that isn't mine. No I must confess that he is the property of my friend... I believe the same one who created Reflect. ..I might be off a bit...

Huzzah more villains. Nature is the first to appear haha.

I know some of you may be wondering what powers the other three villains I introduced have... well... Lucretia Cygnette or Malice... (a play on the word cygnet which is a swan... I wanted an elegant name..) I sort of hinted to with her hair... but not so much... her powers are over poison, by scratching people or finding an open wound on someone, she can poison them, though the poisons are varried from regular poison, to just draining poison that steadily weakens someone... no life-threatening ones will be used ..

Nicolai Anatoli (..the most basic Russian name I could think of...) or Specter... I made a long time ago. His powers are sort of a cross between Rogue and Shadowcat... I made him a phaser... between people and things that kind of phasing. Also he has a 'soul grab' that I named for an energy suction thinger.. When he touches someone and wants to hurt them, he can suck their energy away and into himself to heal himself but the person also has recurring nightmares as Specter sort of... haunts... the person for a few days...

Adrian Shard or Diadem I struggled with the name... I liked the name Adrian but I wasn't sure about Shard... but it works now and it's simple. His powers are mainly about manipulating his body structure into that of gems. They are... what I call... 'Diamond Edge', 'Gem Blade' and 'Crystallization'... Diamond Edge is where he can alter any part of his body (usually his arms) to the consistency of diamonds and slash through things with them. Gem Blade is mainly shooting daggers and blades from his body. Crystallization is a gem armor type thing where it envelops his whole body and it makes it hard to break or hurt him. The only real drawbacks to his mutations are that he's kind of slow, his hair gets weird looks, and there's one patch of his skin that's entirely like a gem and that's under his brace. He never takes off the brace. ...Oh and when he uses his powers, the gems are a bluish purple color, the same as his hair. ))

----

In one of the towers to Nature's lair, Marcelina was currently with Orion. Orion had (somehow... well I'll reveal later...) been retrieved from his imminent death and burial beneath the rocks of the collapsing garage and was brought back. Diadem had carried him to Marcelina who did her... work... in one of the towers. The tower was a quaint looking one, mostly stone, but supported by wooden rafters.

And from the rafters were long chains (extremely hard to break) that were used to restrain a person when Marcelina worked on them. Marcelina's powers were hypnotism and mesmerizing as well as acute psychic bursts, but mainly in hypnotism. Here, they could alter the thoughts and feelings of anyone they wished with the power of the Contessa.

Marcelina hummed lightly as she washed her hands in a little basin. She had Orion's blood on her hands after bandaging up his arm and tending to the other wounds that Nature inflicted on him. Marcelina was a real sight to behold. She wore a long elegant deep red dress that looked almost like the color of wine. It was cropped and strapless and was actually two pieces, one piece covering her chest and back, and the other was the actual dress which was somewhat frilly and reached her ankles. Her skin was slightly tanned, from being Hispanic. The humming Contessa's hair was something that most men were drawn to, in that her hair was brown with small touches of black in it. Her hair was actually straight but seemed to curl slightly at the end. After washing her hands, Marcelina dried them on a nearby towel.

She took a deep breath before going over to her restrained victim. Orion was restrained in the same chains but dangled about a half-foot off the ground, with his arms over his head from the chains that were secured to the rafters. His feet were also restrained, with small metal hoops around his ankles. His shoes had been removed because they were more like boots and went up to his shins, which meant that Orion could kick off his shoes and have his legs free under those circumstances. Orion was still unconscious and his head was slumped down a bit, and every so often, his leg would twitch from an itch caused by the chains.

Marcelina smiled for a moment before taking a light hold of his chin and tilting his head up. "Wake up, mi amor. No puedes dormir toda la tarde" She said in a sing-songy sort of way. She lightly tapped his cheeks to get him to wake up and slowly Orion's amethyst eyes met Marcelina's ruby ones. Suddenly, the chains made jingling sounds as Orion began to struggle and pull his hands and feet before realizing he was chained up. ...Though that didn't stop him from tugging on them... but it was no good.

"Oh don't tell me you're not happy to see me, Raphael... and here I was hoping we could get to talking like we used to..." She said letting their eyes meet before she flicked his arm where he had been shot. Orion winced accordingly of course...

"Release me and then we'll talk..." He said a bit irritated and tugged on the chains before feeling a sharp pain in his arm as the chains seemed to make the gunshot wound more painful.

"Aww... but if I don't keep you chained up for now, you'll run away... back to that witch..." Marcelina said with a slight tone of anger.

"Marcelina, I'll give you one last chance to let me go..." He said as his eyes began to glow the same royal purple but soon fizzled out.

"Oh, do you like them? These chains have special nullifying qualities... You're just as helpless as anyone else at this point..." She said approaching him making him tug again. "Stop struggling... you won't escape my love, sweetheart..." She said placing her cold hands on his face.

"I'm not helpless and I'm especially not your 'sweetheart', Marcelina..." Raphael said trying to shake her hands off of him.

"Oh don't worry, mi amor... you will be soon. Just try to relax.. this won't be easy... or painless... but if you calm down, mi amor... then I promise I'll make it quick... and then you will love me, and me alone... Just be a good boy and hold still..." Marcelina said with a slight giggle. From her hands a pale violet-reddish light began to emit from her hands as she kept them stuck on Orion's face, her fingers moving slowly from his temples, to his cheeks, and back again. She slowly closed her eyes and began her hypnotism...

Marcelina's hypnotism was mainly about supplanting old memories with fake ones for as long as she chose. The effects were not unbreakable for one who specialized in that sort of area but forcibly replacing memories and alterring overall feelings was a bit painful... well very painful. Orion, being very stoic, did not scream or cry out but his eyes tightened in pain as memory after memory was alterred.

Some memories were repressed completely and some left alone... but nearly every memory of him being friends with any of the teachers had to be repressed or alterred somehow. So... a good ten years of memories was what Marcelina was changing. However, Marcelina did keep a lot of his memories in tact of the last ten years... but Marcelina did this while she changed his emotions about them. She began to limit Orion's restraint so things that others had done to him, Orion would be more vengeful and spiteful about. ...Things of that nature. The idea was to turn the kind and respectful Orion into a darker version of himself, mainly by letting all the bitter feelings and other thoughts he'd been keeping to himself, out so that the anger would start to make him hate his former friends.

It took a long time for Marcelina to finish at last, maybe about a half hour or so but once she was done, she lifted her hands off of Orion's face with a satisfied smirk. Orion now a bit tired from struggling and the mental pain he felt from Marcelina's handywork, made his head slump forward again, breathing heavily. Orion's face was sweaty now and soon beads of sweat from his forehead dropped onto the floor. His whole body seemed to ache... his mind hurt and he was sore, especially his arm as he had been resisting and struggling so hard.

But soon, Orion was released from the shackles and fell onto the floor in a tired heap, still breathing heavily. Marcelina smiled some and walked over to him taking a hold of his hand. Orion looked up at her and urged himself to sit up finally. At first, Orion's face was no particular emotion as all the thoughts and fake memories collided and sorted themselves out. "...Marcelina..." He spoke softly for a moment. "...What happened?" He asked a bit confused.

Marcelina stood up from her kneeling position and assisted Orion in standing. "Oh not much... I just helped you realize that you were on the wrong side... that's all... Come. I need you to do one more thing before you can rest..." She said taking him by the hand. Marcelina and Orion descended the spiral staircase of the old tower and soon they arrived in the grand hallway of the castle and began walking towards the main area of the castle.

---

At the end of the way, Nature stood in the middle, while Adrian and Lucretia stood to one side, and Nicolai stood to the other. They had been waiting for some time for Marcelina to be finished.

Marcelina continued to hold onto Orion's hand as she led him down the way. Marcelina seemed very confident while Orion took in the sight of everything. It was very gothic type architecture with arcs and intricately carved columns. Candles lit the way while he walked, barefoot, on the long red and gold carpet that covered the cold stone floor. The layout of the castle was a bit creepy and if accompanied by pipe organ music, it had the potential to scare just about anyone.

Marcelina, upon reaching the rest of the group gave an accomplished looking smile before releasing Orion's hand. Orion, barefoot, a bit sweaty and his arm bandaged, and still in his training suit blinked for a moment as Marcelina sort of presented him to the others. "This is Nature. The one I told you about..." Marcelina whispered to him for a moment.

Lucretia crossed her arms for a moment not sure what to expect, Adrian tilted his head slightly wondering how well Marcelina had done, and Nicolai shifted his hands so that they were in front of him and clenched his hand with the other hand on his wrist as he waited to see the results.

Orion nodded to Marcelina before slowly crouched down and knelt on his left knee. The action surprised nearly everyone except Marcelina, and Orion lowered his head, resting his right hand on his right knee while his left arm was limp, still freshly bandaged. "A pleasure to serve you... _Lord Nature_..." The former second-in-command to the Priestess said in a deep but soft tone.

Marcelina placed her hands on her hips with a beaming smile. Lucretia made a slight gasping sound as her eyes widened, Adrian brought his left hand up to his mouth in surprise and Nicolai couldn't help but look to Nature. Nature's look was one of almost complete satisfaction as he crossed his arms over his chest, standing there tall and proud with a slightly creepy smile on his face.

"I look forward to assisting you in your goals from now on..."

---

((Ahah! Tis done...

I think I like this chapter best so far. This one was less introduction and more of good old action.

This one seemed to end up being more about Orion... actually the next few chapters will be. I'm hoping to have a chapter or two that focus on an individual character... but not have it blaringly obvious that it's focusing primarily on them. Yeah I'll hope for that...

Please review and make suggestions. ...Also please excuse my evil evil spelling problems. I end up reading the chapter and wondering what the heck I was doing when I wrote it... I'm trying to make them as minor as possible.

Subtely I'm going to add in a few more villains but for right now, Nature, Specter, Diadem, Malice, and Contessa are my main ones.

Playing villains is fun I find... it's easy to script them too... cuz you can have them blow something up just for the sake of them being evil. ...What are Nature's plans for Orion? ...Does he have any?

...Okay so I don't EXACTLY know... but I'm working things out as I go along.

Please look forward to my next chapter. Review please. ))

---

Chapter 3: First Training Mission and the Face of Evil Emerges

Next Chapter: How Do You Catch A Falling Star?


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